DISINFO: EU wants to push Russia out of the South Caucasus
SUMMARY
The European Union is not concerned about the settlement of relations between Yerevan and Baku, but about pushing Russia out of the region.
The general Western line is to achieve the unattainable, what they try to call Russia's international isolation. This is one of the manifestations of that line.
Russia has been making efforts to settle this long-standing conflict for many years. In the fall of 2020, we were important mediators in developing the tripartite agreements. All the ways that were mentioned in those agreements were stolen by the European Union and the USA as if Russia has nothing to do with them.
The EU considers it possible to dictate to others who can participate and not. This is a mentoring tactic, a colonial one, which ignores the rights and interests of other participants in international communication.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia as the ultimate target of international events, accusing the ever-aggressive West of having an anti-Russian agenda in the Caucasus. The claim attempts to pre-empt Russia's weakening position in the region.
Pro-Kremlin media promote the idea that the Caucasus is exclusively within Russia's zone of geopolitical dominance and attempts to discredit any other efforts of mediation in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This article even claims that Western countries make the situation worse, accusing them of a colonial approach in their relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. In fact, Western countries have made several attempts to advance a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The EU has a strong interest in a politically stable and economically prosperous Southern Caucasus in full understanding with the states there. See the statement from the EU High Representative Josep Borrell on 19 September 2023 in which he called for the immediate cessation of hostilities, for Azerbaijan to stop the current military activities, and urges dialogue between Baku and Karabakh Armenians.
To cautiously create a base for confidence-building and dialogue in the fresh post-war environment, the EU has come up with a number of programs (EU4Peace, EU4Dialogue, EU4Culture).
The US and France along with Russia are members of the OSCE Minsk Group and involved in Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations since 1992.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has further altered the power balance in the region, creating a dangerous security vacuum and intensifying the need for renewed international mediation toward a comprehensive political settlement. The EU has meanwhile taken on a prominent mediation role in the negotiations. The US stated that it is ready to engage bilaterally, with like-minded partners, to facilitate dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
See similar cases in our database: The West is destabilising the South Caucasus; Brussels wants to squeeze Russia out of the Caucasus; The goal of the EU mission in Armenia is a geopolitical confrontation with Russia; Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh is a consequence of Western interference.