World

EU mission to Armenia will fuel confrontation: Russia

Kremlin views delegation as interference to its sphere of influence

Updated 1 year ago · Published on 27 Jan 2023 2:30PM

EU mission to Armenia will fuel confrontation: Russia
Moscow has accused the European Union of seeking to fuel ‘geopoligical confrontation’ by sending a civilian mission to monitor Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan. – AFP pic, January 27, 2023

MOSCOW – Russia yesterday accused the European Union (EU) of seeking to fuel “geopolitical confrontation” by sending a civilian mission to monitor Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan.

Moscow has sought to maintain its role as a powerbroker between the ex-Soviet republics despite being bogged down in its offensive in Ukraine.

On Monday, the EU launched a civilian mission to help monitor Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, bolstering the bloc’s role in a region viewed by the Kremlin as its sphere of influence.

The mission has been launched during what Armenia describes as a “humanitarian crisis” ravaging the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Since mid-December, a group of Azerbaijanis have been blocking the only road into Karabakh from Armenia to protest what they claim is illegal mining causing environmental damage, leading the mountainous region of some 120,000 people to run short of food, medicines and fuel.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday the EU mission would “only fuel geopolitical confrontation in the region and exacerbate the current contradictions”.

Moscow accused the EU of seeking to expand its influence in the region at Russia’s expense.

“The attempts of the EU to gain a foothold in Armenia at any cost and to curb Russia’s mediation efforts can damage Armenians and Azerbaijanis’ fundamental interests,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“We are convinced that the key factor for stability and security in the region for the foreseeable future remains the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”

Armenia has voiced dismay at what it sees as Moscow’s failure to prevent persisting tensions in the region.

It says Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region have not prevented the blockade.

‘Ethnic cleansing’

The United States threw its support behind the EU mission.

“We welcome efforts by partners including the EU to build confidence in the region and to ensure an environment conducive to direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also stepped up Washington’s role in diplomacy between Armenia and Azerbaijan through regular talks with the two countries’ leaders. Earlier this week he urged Azerbaijan to lift the blockade on the road into Karabakh.

Earlier yesterday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Baku of exerting “economic and psychological pressure to provoke an exodus of Armenians from Karabakh”.

“This is a policy of ethnic cleansing,” he told a cabinet meeting in the capital Yerevan.

He said kindergartens, schools and universities remained closed in Karabakh due to the blockade, with thousands of students “being denied their fundamental right to education”.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev rejected the accusation as “groundless, false, and absurd”.

He said Russian peacekeepers and the Red Cross had ensured the delivery of civilian goods to Karabakh.

“Thousands of civilian cars have entered and left Karabakh since December 12,” he told a newly appointed French ambassador.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan.

The ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.

Another flare-up in violence in 2020 claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered truce that saw Armenia cede territories it had controlled for decades. – AFP, January 27, 2023

Related News

World / 1mth

Russia’s FSB nabs suspects in deadly Moscow concert attack after IS claims responsibility

Business / 2mth

WTO rules against EU’s delegated act, deems it discriminatory towards M’sian palm oil biofuels

World / 2mth

Aid for Ukraine held hostage by US politics

Our Planet / 2mth

Wildlife destroyed: The overlooked ‘ecocide’ of the war in Ukraine

World / 3mth

Malaysian combatants acting for Russia among mercenaries warned by Ukraine

World / 8mth

Kim Jong-un expected to meet Putin in Russia over arms supply: report

Spotlight

Malaysia

Travel agencies misusing tourist, umrah visas for haj will lose licence, warns govt

By Stephen Then

Malaysia

Authorities bust human trafficking syndicate, arrest 8 Bangladeshis

Malaysia

RTD mulls going undercover to nab those renting cars to foreigners without driving licence

Malaysia

Remembering Karpal, his legacy

Malaysia

Go hard on those wanting to cause chaos, Anwar tells police

Malaysia

Economy grows 4.2% in first quarter