Spy games on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border EU mission’s hidden agenda

The EU’s reconnaissance and monitoring mission in Armenia has once again reminded everyone of its presence. Recently, a video was published, once again confirming the fact of espionage by the so-called “observers.” The footage shows mission personnel in two EU-owned Toyota vehicles approaching the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and observing Azerbaijani territories in the direction of the Gazakh region using binoculars. The activities of the “observers” were noticed by servicemen of Azerbaijan’s State Border Service.

What is behind this sudden surge in activity? Clearly, it is linked to the fact that the mission’s mandate is set to expire next month, and now they are desperate to create the illusion of intense activity at the border.

Caliber.Az has previously published materials exposing the mission’s intelligence-gathering role, which targets three countries at once—Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran. It can be assumed that now, following the firm resistance of the Georgian authorities to the collective West’s attempts to interfere in the country’s internal affairs, this network may expand its activities to Georgia as well.

The mission began its activities with a staff of 100 people in February 2023. From the very start, in an effort to justify its existence and simultaneously create negative propaganda against Azerbaijan, the West launched hysteria over its so-called “aggressive plans” toward Armenia.

In the spring of 2023, the head of the mission, Markus Ritter, went so far as to claim in an interview with DW: “Many Armenians believe there'll be a spring offensive by Azerbaijan. If this doesn't happen, our mission is already a success.”

In December 2023, the European Union announced the expansion of its mission in Armenia to 209 personnel. In March 2024, the Armenian parliament ratified an agreement with the EU on the mission’s status, granting its members immunity and privileges, including protection from detention and arrest.

In addition to its primary intelligence-gathering role and its cover activity of border patrols, the mission also serves an additional symbolic function. Visits by various Western politicians have become a kind of “tradition,” signaling their paternalistic support for Armenia and their dissatisfaction—if not outright hostility—toward Azerbaijan.

For instance, in July 2024, a U.S. congressional delegation monitored the situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border alongside mission representatives. Then, in November, Polish President Andrzej Duda turned his binoculars toward Azerbaijan during a visit to the mission’s observation post, where he met with its personnel. The French ambassador has also visited the so-called border multiple times, often accompanying these visits with ambiguous tweets.

Baku has repeatedly expressed its bewilderment over the mission’s activities. President Ilham Aliyev has pointed out that the extension of the mission was not coordinated with Baku. Moreover, in December last year, Aliyev presented one of Azerbaijan’s conditions for a peace agreement to Yerevan—rejecting the deployment of third-country armed forces along the border.

Meanwhile, discussions on a possible extension of the EU mission’s mandate in Armenia began in late 2024. As recently reported by Caliber.Az, citing reliable sources, Brussels intends to extend the EU’s spy mission in Armenia for another two years. Today, on January 29, EU ambassadors in Brussels have approved the extension of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) until February 19, 2027. As expected, events are unfolding precisely as we predicted.

If Yerevan continues down this path, it will mark yet another step toward obstructing the negotiation process with Azerbaijan. Moreover, there are reports that following the extension, the spy mission may be granted a military role—an open challenge to peace.