News - Russian ambassador: EU mission in Armenia is engaged in collecting intelligence data

The European Union’s (EU) mission working on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border is collecting intelligence data in an effort to counter Moscow, Baku, and Tehran under the guise of monitoring activities, Russian ambassador to Yerevan, Sergey Kopyrkin, said in an interview with the Soyuzniki: ODKB (Allies: CSTO) publication, TASS reports. "Many of the risks that Armenia is currently facing could have been mitigated if Yerevan had agreed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization's (CSTO) proposal in September 2022 to implement a set of measures to stabilize the situation on the border with Azerbaijan. These were serious initiatives covering defense assistance, the deployment of a monitoring mission and assistance in the training of border troops. Unfortunately, the Armenian leadership preferred to invite a European Union mission, which is in no way protecting the country’s borders. All it is doing is collecting intelligence data against Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia under the guise of monitoring activities," the Russian diplomat noted According to the envoy, the future of the South Caucasus should be decided by the countries of the region and neighboring partner nations. "No one from the outside will bring peace and prosperity to our common home. As for ensuring long-term regional security, stability and social and economic development, the collective West’s plans to militarize the region and expand the military and political influence of the EU and NATO here run completely counter to this goal," Kopyrkin said.