Selective blindness: Why is EU mission in Armenia needed if it is deaf and dumb?

On April 10, another incident occurred on the conventional border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Armenian armed forces again opened fire at the Azerbaijani border post, as a result of which a state border service officer was wounded, Today.az informs with reference to Trend.

As a result of the investigation, the National Security Service of Armenia accused the Armenian border guards of violating the rules, which led to a shootout.

“On April 10, a conscript soldier of the NSS border troops, having learned that a shepherd and his flock had gotten lost and ended up on Azerbaijani territory, together with his colleagues decided to cross the border without permission and return the cattle, thereby violating the rules of service, which through negligence caused significant damage , led to a groundless shootout and endangered the lives and health of people,” the department said.

However, this begs the question: where was the EU observation mission at that moment?

The EU monitoring mission in Armenia was launched in January last year. Initially, the number of arriving employees was 100 people. But already in December their number was increased to 209 people. And really none of them were able to respond in a timely manner?

The fact that in principle there was no reaction from them to this incident already suggests that the Europeans are simply not ready to take on this responsibility.

This is not the first time that Europeans remain silent or justify themselves by saying that they allegedly do not have access to some Armenian villages. When a similar incident occurred in February this year, the EU mission shifted responsibility to Russian border guards.

What then are their responsibilities? Only in March 2024 did the Armenian parliament ratify an agreement with the European Union on the status of the EU observation mission, which should regulate the activities of the mission and also clarify its functions. What the observers have been doing for the past year is unclear.

It is obvious that all this time the Europeans were protecting their Armenian friends. The Armenian side has already taken responsibility, and the EU continues to cover them. So, “binocular diplomacy” did not work again.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pashinyan says that the mandate of the European mission in Armenia can be extended for another two years. In addition to the fact that the Europeans have once again shown inaction and proven their absolute uselessness, the extension of their mandate simply becomes another obstacle to the delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and the conclusion of peace between the parties. At the same time, Pashinyan states that all problems of Baku and Yerevan must be resolved independently, without third parties. What is the Armenian leadership trying to achieve?