Zakharova talks on EU mission in Armenia: Everything is being done to squeeze Russia out of region

Emphasizing the exclusively civilian nature of the new mission, the representatives of the EU are disingenuous. It unfolds within the meaning of the EU Common Security and Defense Policy. Therefore, it should be treated accordingly, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, the Russian bureau of Report informs.

She was answering a question from journalists in connection with the launch of the EU civil monitoring mission in the border areas of Armenia.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the European Union is doing everything to squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as the main guarantor of security: “Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have recorded the desire of the European Union and the West as a whole to gain a foothold in our allied Armenia by any means. We see in these attempts an exclusively geopolitical background, far from the interests of a real normalization of relations in the South Caucasus. Everything is being done to squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as the main guarantor of security. The publicly expressed negative assessments of this initiative by Baku are ignored,” she added.

Zakharova stressed that Moscow is convinced that a set of agreements between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia remains a key factor in stability and security in the region for the foreseeable future: “Through the comprehensive implementation of the trilateral agreement, including the unblocking of transport communications, the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the establishment of contacts between the public, experts, religious circles, parliamentarians of the two countries, as well as negotiations on the development of a peace treaty, is the most direct way to improve the situation in the region. Russia is ready to continue to contribute to this in every possible way.”