Russia criticizes EU military assistance to Armenia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the EU's decision to allocate €10 million ($10.8 million) in military aid to Armenia on Wednesday.

"The EU's plans to send €10 million in support of the Armenian armed forces are based on a geopolitical calculation to spread its destructive influence over the South Caucasus region," Zakharova said, responding to Anadolu's question at a news conference in Moscow.

Zakharova argued that the example of Ukraine demonstrates that the European Peace Fund is not about peace, stability, and security, but rather about war, provoking countries, and bloodshed.

According to Zakharova, Western approaches like "divide and rule", "push and pit nations against each other," and flooding the South Caucasus with arms bring nothing positive to the region's stability and security.

"We have repeatedly pointed out that the EU has lost its peaceful foundation and lacks any potential for fostering peace. Perhaps there is something left deep within, but we do not see anything that can be effectively utilized," she noted.

Zakharova remarked that there was a time when the EU aspired to create a peaceful and stable environment, and aimed to strengthen efforts for peaceful goals "at least in words."

Today, however, the association "has embarked on a path of militarization and confrontation, serving the interests of the US and NATO rather than its own citizens," she said.

"Our warnings have been confirmed -- this entire Western initiative aims to impose widespread confrontation and turn the post-Soviet space into a zone of conflict. Statements from American Congress representatives about preventing good relations between Central Asian countries and Russia speak volumes," she added.

Zakharova suggested that the EU's strategy involves exacerbating existing contradictions, including those between Baku and Yerevan, to deter Russia and other sovereign, independent countries from the West.

"How can the collective West tolerate the reduction of conflict points on the map or regions of instability, especially when peace, security, cooperation, mutual benefit, and mutual respect are at stake? It seems they prefer to fish in troubled waters," she said.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when Armenia occupied Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, territories internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Most of this territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in 2020, ending with a Russian-brokered peace agreement that initiated normalization and border talks.

Last September, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh following an "anti-terrorist operation," leading to the surrender of separatist forces.