Moscow condemns new EU mission in Armenia  as " domestic  interference"

ArmInfo. Moscow is convinced that the goal of the new EU civilian mission in Armenia is to interfere in the country's internal affairs, as stated by Russian  Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova during a weekly briefing on April 24.

She recalled that on April 21, the Council of EU Foreign Ministers  decided to dispatch a partner mission to Armenia. "We're talking  about a second civilian mission in this country. It's clear that the  new mechanism, which the EU is presenting as helping Yerevan combat  hybrid threats, will give Brussels additional leverage over Armenian  ministries and national institutions—this is also clear, obvious,  and, by the way, no one in Brussels is hiding it. Under the pretext  of tracking illicit financial flows, countering cyberattacks, and  manipulating information and information interference by third  countries, the EU will attempt to interfere in Armenia's internal  affairs," Zakharova expressed her conviction, urging to "call a spade  a spade".

She expressed confidence that the EU will also seek to influence the  outcome of the parliamentary elections in Armenia on June 7. As  evidence for her assertions, she cited the mission's rationale:  "tracking illicit financial flows." Zakharova expressed her belief  that if the EU wanted to track illicit financial flows, it would be  more logical to send such a mission to Ukraine rather than Armenia.  "So why are they sending a mission to Armenia and not Ukraine?  Because their goal isn't to monitor, but to influence—to politically  influence and manipulate," the Russian diplomat added.

According to her, the mission, which ostensibly intends to combat  certain interferences, is itself an instrument of such interference.  Zakharova recalled that a similar partner mission is operating in  Moldova, and everyone is well aware of the results of its activities.

"It has been repeatedly emphasized that the expanded presence of  non-regional actors, including from the European Union and other  structures, in the South Caucasus runs counter to the principle of  regional responsibility, whereby the region's problems are resolved  by its countries and their neighbors. It also carries risks for the  very fragile stability in this part of Eurasia. And it's long been  known what Western European political thinking is geared  toward—drawing its partners into some kind of coordinate system with  empty promises. This system, as a rule, is Russophobic. Afterwards,  they use them to solve their own problems," the Russian Foreign  Ministry spokesperson continued. 

At the same time, Zakharova emphasized that Moscow sees the EU, which  has adopted a course of "militarization to counter the mythical  Russian threat, seeking to turn Armenia into its outpost." "This all  stands in stark contrast to Yerevan's official policy of not serving  as a bargaining chip for the interests of third countries. Armenia's  agreement to host a new mission, as EU officials describe it, is  apparently linked to the fact that the leadership hopes to use it to  accelerate its progress along the European path. We simply shouldn't  confuse the path to the European Union through EU membership—and  quite a few countries are already stalling on this path—with the  European path. It seems to me that Armenia, like Moldova, doesn't  need the path to the EU, but rather a European path, and that's  definitely not the right path," the Russian diplomat continued.

Zakharova pointed out  that assistance to mitigate the damage to the  national economy and the population's well-being will definitely not  be forthcoming if Yerevan shifts its focus from EU membership to  simply the EU and European demands. "We hope that our Armenian allies  and friends will not allow this new, so- called mission to be used to  interfere in their internal affairs and draw Yerevan into the West's  geopolitical games, which would involve the destruction of friendly  ties with our country and its involvement in Brussels' anti-Russian  policies," Zakharova concluded.

Recall, on April 21, the EU Council of Foreign Ministers approved the  deployment of a new civilian mission to Armenia. It will last for two  years. According to the statement, "the mission will strengthen  Armenia's resilience to hybrid threats by providing strategic and  practical advice and support to ministries and security agencies."  These consultations will focus on policy development, identifying and  responding to external information manipulation, cyberattacks, and  illicit financial flows. The mission will also assess the need to  develop Armenia's security capacity to enable the country to more  effectively identify and respond to hybrid threats in line with EU  methodologies and standards.

Earlier, Radio Liberty  reported that it had a letter at its disposal   from Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to Brussels, in which  he "requested the deployment of a rapid response team to Yerevan to  counter Kremlin disinformation and Russian interference in the  parliamentary elections in Armenia, and then, possibly, a more  permanent civilian mission." In this regard, it was recalled that the  EU sent a similar team of approximately 20 people to Chisinau during  last year's parliamentary elections "to help the Moldovan authorities  identify and counter disinformation emanating from Russia on social  media." It should be added that the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas,  had previously announced the allocation of EUR 15 million to Armenia  to "counter Russian propaganda."