Armenia reportedly considers meeting Azerbaijan's demand on EU monitoring mission

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is reportedly considering not extending the European Union’s monitoring mission in Armenia, a move that would fulfil another key demand from Azerbaijan amid ongoing peace talks.

The EU mission, established in 2023, was deployed to Armenia's border regions with the stated goal of enhancing "stability", but Azerbaijan has expressed concerns over its presence.

According to Caliber.Az, citing the Armenian newspaper Hraparak, Armenia may opt not to extend the mission’s mandate beyond its current term, which is set to expire in February 2025. This development comes as Azerbaijan continues to raise objections to the mission, arguing that it has heightened tensions along the "conditional border" between the two nations.

“According to some reports, Armenia is planning to fulfil another demand from Azerbaijan by not extending the duration of the EU observer mission in Armenia,” the Yerevan-based newspaper wrote. “The Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Army, Karim Valiyev, recently stated that the presence of the EU mission on the 'conditional border' with Armenia worsens the situation.”

Valiyev further explained that the EU’s involvement, along with Armenia's recent military support from external countries, particularly France, has contributed to destabilizing the region. “The deployment of the European Union observer mission, as well as the arming of Armenia by certain countries outside the region, particularly France, has led to the resurgence of revanchist forces in Armenia, creating obstacles to the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and hindering the peace process, further exacerbating the situation in the South Caucasus,” he said.

While these reports have not yet been officially verified, sources in Armenia suggest the government may be preparing to let the mission expire. "We were unable to verify the news officially, as we did not receive responses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the observer mission," Hraparak noted.

The Armenian government has not yet made an official announcement on the mission's future. However, political analysts speculate that Pashinyan's recent decision to remove Russian border guards from the Armenia-Iran border may be connected to this potential move, positioning Armenia to avoid accusations of leaning too heavily toward Russia once the EU mission concludes.

The EU mission's term is scheduled to end in February 2025 unless the Armenian authorities request an extension.