Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has accused European Union observers stationed in Armenia of not protecting the country’s borders, but rather collecting intelligence data against Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia. According to Galuzin, Armenia could mitigate many of the risks it faces by implementing an action plan under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to stabilize the situation. This plan includes military-technical support, deployment of a monitoring mission, and training of border guard troops.
Armenia’s relationship with the CSTO became more strained after Azerbaijan’s attack in September 2022. Despite Armenia’s calls for support, the CSTO has not condemned the attack or acknowledged Azerbaijan’s occupation of Armenian territories. In response, Armenia rejected the proposal to deploy CSTO observers on the border, leading Prime Minister Pashinyan to announce that Armenia’s membership in the alliance is effectively frozen.
In February 2023, 100 European Union observers arrived in Armenia to help stabilize the border regions and support efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The mission, with a mandate of two years, expanded to 209 observers by the end of December. The mission operates from six offices in various locations in Armenia.
