YEREVAN, March 20. /TASS/. Armenian lawmakers ratified the agreement on the status of the European Union (EU) monitoring mission on the border with Azerbaijan at a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday that was streamed live on Armenian online media.

"While 57 parliamentarians voted for [the ratification], with no votes against, 27 lawmakers abstained," Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan said. While some members of the opposition Hayastan (Armenia) faction were among those who abstained, another opposition faction, I Have Honor, skipped the vote altogether.

The decision will take effect after the law is signed by Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan. The agreement will allow relevant Armenian agencies to view the EU mission, including its units, headquarters and staff, as a representative office with a diplomatic mandate on customs and tax issues.

According to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, deploying the mission to the border with Azerbaijan will be the first time that the EU has had a say in spheres concerning Armenian security. Armenia’s top diplomat has given his assurances that any action to deepen Yerevan’s relations with Western countries, including EU members, is not aimed against Russia, while Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said he is ready to discuss extending the mission for another two years with Brussels.

Over 100 EU mission observers have been patrolling the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan since they were deployed there in February 2023. Two months earlier, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced a decision to increase the EU mission in Armenia from 138 to 209 people.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the EU mission in Armenia has been looking into what Russia is doing in the region, an issue Moscow raised with Yerevan. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has emphasized that Armenia rejected stabilization mechanisms along the border envisaged by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in order to invite the EU mission.