Markus Rittel's Fantasies as consequences of Armenian "hospitality"

Markus Ritter, Head of the EU Observer Mission in Armenia (EUMA), met with participants of an Armenian-Georgian conference in Yerevan. At the meeting, he tried to prove that the presence of the mission is necessary and that it is the only one that supports stability and peace on the border with Azerbaijan, which, they say, only thinks how to harm Armenia. Ritter also attempted to refute the accusations against EUMA of impure intentions and provocative behavior.

"The neighboring countries of Armenia are already realizing that the EU observation mission operating in Armenia has become a factor of stability," he said.

I wonder which countries are we talking about? Azerbaijan has not changed its opinion about the goals and objectives of this structure. In Russia, EUMA was and still is considered a spy company operating against Russian interests. Georgia doesn't care about any European mission in another country at all. In previous years, she herself had already experienced the full charm of European participation in resolving her territorial problems. This participation consisted of the following: a lot of noise with zero result. As for Turkey, its opinion on this issue hardly differs from Baku's. There are also big doubts about Iran, where they cannot fail to understand that EUMA marks the arrival of the West and NATO in the region.

In general, Mr. Ritter's speech was full of theses that did not correspond to reality. And some of them should be highlighted.

First, a diplomat who claims to be an impartial observer should not use the narratives of one of the parties. There are no territories of Armenia that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces "entered". There are border villages and areas that were illegally appropriated and settled by the Armenian side during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. There are no "conflict-affected" settlements in Armenia, because there have never been any military operations on its territory.

After the 44-day war, these territories, of course, were returned to their owners, and the fact that parts of border villages, facilities and hangouts remained outside the internationally recognized borders of Armenia is the result of Armenia's occupation policy, not our fault.

Markus Ritter admitted that nowhere in the world do EU missions receive such hospitality. Apparently, this hospitality was the reason for the untruth, to put it mildly, that the head of EUMA allowed himself in his speech in Ijevan.

The head of the mission, arguing about his need, actually made it clear that the appearance of EUMA made the Azerbaijani side "scared" and stop shooting. In other words, the instability on the border, according to his thought, was the fault of Azerbaijan, and that's why the poor Armenians were so happy about the arrival of the Europeans - finally, they found someone to complain to.

It's all nonsense. The Armenian provocations became more subdued after the neighbor learned some good lessons and realized that he might actually start losing square kilometers if he didn't calm down. And even after the arrival of the EU mission, the Armenian side continued to shoot periodically, only now it hid behind EUMA and, provoking return fire, immediately ran to Mr. Ritter for support. And he was supportive, in gratitude for the hospitality and generous treats in the homes of residents of border villages.

During his two years in Armenia, Ritter has repeatedly said that EUMA is armed only with binoculars and cameras. He also said this at a meeting in Ijevan. Meanwhile, it is known that this is not true. Earlier this year, it was decided to expand the mission's mandate and supply it with special equipment and weapons. Ritter and his team now have the right to carry guns. So it would be better not to specify about "only binoculars and cameras". We do not expect Ritter's colleagues, who are staring through binoculars at the Azerbaijani positions, to suddenly pull out pistols and open fire. It's just that even a small lie leads to a big lie, and trusting words is out of the question.

I must say that EUMA has been caught in lies more than once. And it's so shameful that even we here felt Spanish shame for them. Representatives of major powers who want to dictate the rules on the continent behaved very undignified.

Did Ritter want to "subtly" tease Baku by recalling some dubious story two years ago on the Nakhchivan border? And we will not be so subtle and we will remind about the disgrace of the mission during another provocation of Armenian propaganda that took place during the same period. Then the Armenians spread the information that the Azerbaijanis allegedly seriously wounded an Armenian soldier, and also fired at the EU mission. Then it turned out that neither one nor the other was true. The soldier stepped on his native Armenian landmine, but the Europeans were not in any danger. But the most interesting thing was the reaction of the mission to the Armenian fake. Initially, EUMA denied the Armenian lie on the social network X: "Not a single EUMA patrol was a target for shelling." However, soon, at the direction of the Armenian side, the post was modified and already sounded like this: "CORRECTED STATEMENT: We confirm that the #EUMA patrol was present during the shooting in our area of responsibility. Not a single member of #EUMA was injured."

It is clear that initially the Europeans were outraged by the Armenian side's fantasy and they resolutely refuted it. But then, probably, the same "hospitality" intervened.

Oh, this is hospitality... It so often lets European observers down by making them look stupid. Let's recall the story of the "runaway" metallurgical plant, which, in violation of all international norms, was built a couple of years ago near the border with the Sadarak district of NAR. Azerbaijan made a fuss, and eventually Yerevan was forced to remove the construction site from the border. The EU mission observed the process of dismantling the enterprise and removing building materials, as it wrote on its Facebook page: "The EU civilian Mission conducted regular patrols last week to ensure the safe dismantling of equipment and transportation of materials to a new location." A day later, the recording sounded like this: "The EU mission regularly patrols the Yeraskha area, including the factory, to monitor any security and military developments."

The euro-observers unknowingly gave out a "military secret", for which they were scolded and, probably, threatened to deprive them of their hospitable hospitality. And the post about the dismantling of the plant was deleted. Although the enterprise was indeed dismantled, and it could be observed even with the naked eye from the Azerbaijani border.

After such shameful stories, it would be better for Mr. Ritter not to talk about the mission's independent activities and complete freedom of action in Armenia. Its activities are not neutral, equidistant, and so on. It is directly related to Yerevan's requests and, as the head of EUMA honestly admitted, is aimed at "ensuring that the Armenian side has a good position in the negotiation process." This is the only true phrase in the entire speech by Mr. Markus Ritter. And thank him at least for this truth.

Indeed, EUMA did not come to Armenia and firmly established itself here for the sake of peace and stability in the region. Yerevan and Macron discussed in a close circle how to "save" Armenia, and came up with an option with an observation mission. After the defeat in the war and the loss of the occupied territories, the occupying country was in a very weak position. Like any aggressor after a military defeat. And they decided to help Yerevan by offering a wheelchair in the person of the EU observation mission.

However, the Armenians expected much more from the mission than riding along the border with binoculars and visiting hospitable homes of border residents. By the way, Ritter himself told about this in Ijevan, saying that when they arrived in Armenia, many people thought that the Europeans were deployed instead of the Russian peacekeepers, that they were "representatives of the EU Armed Forces and were called upon to protect Armenia from possible aggression."

By and large, the EU mission has its own interests and objectives. Even "strengthening Armenia's position" is not the main thing. Mr. Ritter resents Azerbaijan for accusations of espionage and intelligence activities, but in vain. The Azerbaijani side, which in turn is monitoring the movements and actions of European observers at its borders, has serious grounds for such assessments, and so far EUMA has not been able to convince us.

Armenia's support is rather part of big plans, for the implementation of which this country must remain in confrontation with Azerbaijan, delay the signing of peace and serve as a destabilizing factor in the region. As long as the threat of (albeit imaginary) destabilization remains in the region, the doors to alien interests will be open.

The interference of outsiders and the ardent support of Europe for Armenia have become the reason that, five years after the end of the war, peace has still not been signed. Ritter argues that the EU's mediation role has spurred the peace process, but we affirm with all responsibility that this is not the case. The intervention of the EU in the person of Macron and other provocateurs only complicated the solution of the issue. It was only after Yerevan, at Baku's insistence, agreed to a direct dialogue without intermediaries that things finally got off the ground.

There is an ancient principle of healing - "do no harm." He also fully applies to politics and diplomacy. It would be good for the EU observation mission to adopt this wisdom.