A day after the European Union launched a two-year monitoring mission at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Russia accused the bloc of having geopolitical motivations, adding to Moscow’s ongoing insistence that the West is attempting to undermine Russia in its own backyard.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin told Toivo Klaar, the EU’s special representative to the Caucasus, that Brussels’ decision to launch an EU civilian mission has “clear geopolitical context,” which does not contribute to stabilization efforts in the region.
During a telephone conversation on Tuesday, Galuzin also told Klaar that there was no consensus among Armenia and Azerbaijan about the launch of the mission. Baku also has suggested that the EU mission might destabilize the region.
A delegation headed by the EU’s Civilian Operations Commander Stefano Tomat met on Tuesday with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan to discuss the EU mission in Armenia.
Both Pashinyan and Grigoryan voiced confidence that the mission will bolster stability in the region, specifically in Armenia’s border regions.
The announcement on Tuesday by President Vladimir Putin of Russia that Moscow will suspend its participation in the New Start nuclear treaty with the United States also compounds the existing tensions between Russia and the EU.
Explaining the decision, Putin noted that the agreement was initially drawn up under completely different circumstances, when Russia and the US did not perceive each other as adversaries, the RT news agency reported.
Now, however, according to Putin, not only is the U.S. issuing ultimatums to Russia, but NATO itself has essentially made an application to become part of the treaty as well.
“Russia cannot ignore this. We cannot allow ourselves to ignore this,” Putin said.
“Before we return to discussing this agreement, we must understand for ourselves what the intentions of countries like France and the UK are, and how we will consider their strategic arsenals as well, which is the cumulative striking potential of NATO,” Putin added.
