The monitoring mission of the European Union does not guarantee the security of Armenia, but it is important from the point of view of the attention of the international community, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, speaking at the Center for Transatlantic Relations in Prague. On May 4, his speech was broadcast on the Armenian Public Television.
Baku was highly critical of the EU decision to send a mission to the Armenian border.
“The decision to invite the EU monitoring mission to Armenia was not easy, as it does not provide security guarantees, but it can create challenges. On the other hand, it is important for us to keep the attention of the international community on the South Caucasus region, because this attention is completely focused on Ukraine.” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister of Armenia stated that his country’s position is perceived ambiguously. “Many in the West think that we are a proxy government of Russia, and in the East they think that we are pursuing a pro-Western policy”Pashinyan said.
According to, “neighbours of Armenia” in the West, they claim that Yerevan is a close ally of Russia, and urge to deal with the Armenian side in the same way as with Russia, while in Moscow they claim that the Prime Minister of Armenia is cooperating closely with the EU, and “this creates opportunities for an aggressive policy towards Armenia by the neighbors”.
Recall that earlier the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that Russia had sent an official request to Armenia and urged to clarify the situation with the country’s participation in NATO exercises, so that the Russian side decide how to respond to this.
On April 6, the Pentagon announced Armenia’s participation in the Defender 23 military exercises. [ежегодное многонациональное совместное учение стран НАТО, проводимое под руководством США]which will begin on April 22. Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh added that around 9,000 US soldiers and 17,000 soldiers from 26 allied countries will take part in this year’s exercise, with different stages of the exercises taking place in just 10 European countries.
But later the Pentagon removed Armenia from the list of participants, explaining that the department’s press service was wrong.
Then, the press secretary of the Armenian defense department, Aram Torosyan, told Armenia Today that his country will participate in two more US military exercises in Europe in 2023: KFOR and Saber Junction.
KFOR (Kosovo Force, in official UN documents in Russian they are called KFOR – “Forces for Kosovo”) – the exercises of the international forces led by NATO, the purpose of which is supposedly to establish stability in Kosovo. Saber Junction is an annual multinational exercise conducted by the US Army’s 7th Army.
On April 14, Russia received a response from Armenia to the request of Maria Zakharova: Armenia acts on the basis of state interests and is doing everything possible to increase the combat capability of its armed forces, said Artur Hovhannisyan, secretary of the Civil Contract.
“And we will continue to continue this”Hovhannisyan specified.
At the same time, he added, Armenia will maintain friendly relations with Russia, its strategic partner. “Armenia also continues its warm relations with partners from other countries and does everything possible to develop and increase the combat capability of the RA Armed Forces”said the deputy.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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