EU Ambassador Peter Mihalko summoned to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

On February 12, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Azerbaijan Peter Mihalko was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry.

According to the information, during the meeting, it was once again brought to the attention of the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia that it is a serious concern, contrary to the initial agreements reached.

It was noted that the said mission was widely misused as a means of propaganda against Azerbaijan, contrary to its stated goals of regional stability and contributing to confidence building between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

It was brought to the attention of the EU side that the mission essentially became an agent of "binocular diplomacy," contributing to the organisation of visits by various European officials and unofficial delegations to the border regions. Without exception, it was noted that all such visits were used to spread hatred against Azerbaijan as well as to expand baseless Azerbaijanophobia.

It was said that this activity of "binocular diplomacy" was observed at a time when unprecedented calm prevails along the border, as well as when both Azerbaijan and Armenia are implementing serious confidence-building measures.

At the same time, the latest incident related to the prevention of an illegal crossing attempt in the regions for which the monitoring mission is responsible casts a serious shadow on the stated tasks of this mission.

Such worrisome activity is in no way consistent with the mission's stated objectives of contributing to trust and confidence building as a neutral actor.

The EU side was seriously urged to consider all necessary measures to ensure that the mission stationed in the territory of Armenia operates as a neutral, civilian, and unarmed mission in accordance with its stated mandate, as well as refraining from any activity directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan or affecting its legitimate security interests in one way or another. ?