Foreign

"It is the sovereign right of Armenia as a subject of international relations to invite the mission of the European Union. Each country can invite representatives of various states and international organizations to protect its border. The main issue here is what this step of Armenia will lead to," Russian political expert, director of the Institute of Contemporary State Development Dmitry Solonnikov told APA's Russian bureau in his statement.

According to him, this is the continuation of the policy of separating Armenia from Russia: "It is no secret that Pashinyan came to power with the help of NGOs funded by the United States. These are the Soros Foundation and other organizations. These financiers have previously set the task before themselves to turn Armenia from a pro-Russian spectrum of international relations to a pro-American spectrum. This process is carried out gradually, as they did in Ukraine. They gradually separated Ukraine from Russia. It is impossible to separate Armenia from Russia in a moment. It has been a while since they turned Armenia's face away from Russia with the help of Pashinyan. Anti-Russian propaganda is constantly carried out in the country, and anti-Russian information channels are created. The enemy image of Russia is created in people's minds. After that, technological steps are already being taken. Inviting the mission of the European Union is a technological step. What does European Union mean? It is a political organization based on NATO in the military plan. Everyone should understand well that this is the mission of NATO countries. Those there will be NATO officers in civilian clothes".

"Everyone should understand well that this is actually NATO's mission"

The expert emphasized that all this is happening within the framework of the commitments undertaken by Armenia in the CSTO: "Suspanding relations with the CSTO at the same time does not benefit Armenia. Because there is a Russian military base in the country, Armenians in Karabakh are protected by Russian peacekeepers. If there is no Russian peacekeeper, the intensifying conflict in the South Caucasus will be more difficult for Armenia. This will have unexpected consequences for Armenia. In terms of both Karabakh and Zangazur Corridor, the outcome for Armenia may be bad.

However, despite this, Armenia is moving forward on this path. Attempts to make Armenia another forepost of NATO in the South Caucasus will be realized. The task of the West is to open a second front against Russia in the South Caucasus. Revanchist thinkers in Armenia today think that they can do something with the support of the European Union."

Solonnikov noted that this spirit will become stronger in Armenia: "I think that all the negotiations that the European Union will conduct as a mediator are to organize a new bloody process. Europe has no other purpose. Therefore, Armenia's step, the step dictated by its owner, the task given to Pashinyan by those who brought him to power, is this. Pashinyan was brought to that position for this. Unfortunately, the example of Ukraine does not teach anything," the Russian expert concluded.

Sergey Markov: "With the EU mission, France takes revenge from Russia for its defeat in Africa"

Director of the Russian Institute of Political Studies, political scientist Sergey Markov pointed out that the mission of the European Union to be deployed on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is a joint project of France and Armenia: "This is an enemy project to Azerbaijan and Armenia. They are not neutral observers. These observers are being deployed there based on a plan prepared by the leaders of Armenia and France in Paris last fall. This plan aims to remove the Russian peacekeepers from the region and place the European Union there in the face of France. In this way, France wants to take revenge on Russia as the main ally of Armenia. Because the Russian military has replaced the French in the field of security in several African countries - Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic. It can be said that today France wants to replace the African countries it lost with Armenia. In addition to this, Armenia also became an obstacle for the CSTO to send a mission to the region".

Sergey Voronin: "Pashinyan is no longer "drifting", he is confidently taking his country to the West"

Director of Historical Expertise and State Forecasting Center, political expert Sergey Voronin also announced that the West is applying the same Ukrainian scenario in Armenian-Russian relations. "First of all, it should be noted that the European Union's decision to send a mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is not new. The first decision in this regard was made last year. It must be said that the story of the EU observers reminds me of the Minsk agreements regarding Ukraine. For 8 years, they immersed Russia. Under the name of preparations for the implementation of the Minsk agreements, they prepared the national battalions fighting in Donbas today. In my opinion, what Armenia has done today reminds of that story. These are attempts to blur the situation and deceive the leadership of Azerbaijan. We must say clearly that the mission of the European Union is the "fifth wheel in the cart". No observers are needed there. There are Russian peacekeepers, which are the guarantor of stability in Karabakh. The process of border delimitation and demilitarization of Karabakh is carried out step by step. Sometimes Pashinyan declares that the whole world recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan, and sometimes he starts to complain... In my opinion, what is happening gives ground to say that Pashinyan is no longer "drifting" but is confidently taking his country to the West. This means breaking from Russia. Look at, the specific duration of the mission is not adhered to. This means that the mission can stay longer in Armenia. Moreover, let's take into account that under the name of a civilian mission, military advisers of NATO countries and representatives of intelligence are sent to Armenia. In this case, a knot of tension is created on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is very dangerous.

There is another important factor here. It seems to me that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and then Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talked about this on January 10. Did the European Union get the consent of Azerbaijan when it decided to send this mission? This mission will stay on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It is very strange that precisely at the request and demand of Armenia, without the participation of the Azerbaijani side, it should perform the task to cease the possible conflict fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Therefore, I am sure that sending an EU mission is a counterproductive step. This is a dangerous step that does not help to resolve the disagreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On the contrary, it can create a new spark hotbed. The European Union has no place in the South Caucasus region. This should only be a zone of interest for regional countries and Russia, Türkiye and Iran," the Russian expert concluded.

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