Russian propaganda against Armenia amid settling EU's monitoring mission
January 23,2023 the European Union approved the deployment of a new civilian monitoring mission in Armenia to ‘contribute to stability in border areas’. Not long after, February 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused the European Union of attempting to gain a foothold in Armenia.The spokesperson’s statements came on the day that the EU deployed a two-year civilian monitoring mission in Armenia. Zakharova stated that Baku’s ‘negative views’ about the mission had been ‘ignored’. One of the main point from Moscow was what , Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar by phone that Moscow views the mission as a bid to “squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as the main guarantor of security”.
How did the EU mission become a new way for manipulation for Russian media?
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The deployment of the EU civilian mission became a new subject for manipulation for the Russian Government and pro-governmental media. Information about the imminent dispatch of a new mission caused discontent in Moscow. According to gazeta.ru Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on January 18 that the Collective Security Treaty Organization could also send a mission to the border. “We still remain ready to send a CSTO mission to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he stressed.
On March 16, TASS reported, Maria Zakharova stated, “We consider the statements of the Armenian leadership as a continuation of the line that was taken at the summit in Prague in October 2022 under the auspices of the European Union. Therefore, we leave on the conscience of the Armenian side, I mean the leadership of Armenia, attempts to lay responsibility for the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh on third countries," she said, commenting on the statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that Russia is the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh.
On April 27, TASS reported, France and the United States failed the application for the role of an honest mediator in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. This was stated on Thursday at a briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
On June 11 according to 1lurer.am Maria Zakharova referred to the mediation efforts of the EU in the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the EU civilian mission located in Armenia.“We note the absolutely politicized and opportunistic nature of the European Union's mediation in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, where the priority is not the desire to contribute to stabilization, but the ideology and the desire to push Russia out. One of the examples is the small results of the activities of the EU mission in Armenia,” said the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
What Armenians think about Russia?
Statements by Russian high-ranking officials are concerning , as Russia's interest remains high in Armenia. The Public Opinion Survey of residents of Armenia from January to March 2023 conducted by International Republican Institute (IRI) posted some statistics about the opinion of Armenian Residents about Russia and the influence on Armenia. The results of the survey show that mostly the population consider Russia the most important partner in the fields of economy, politics and security. This kind of opinion can be explained by membership in different security and economical treaties. But some controversion can be visible because Russia is on the third place of the countries pose the biggest threat to Armenia according to public opinion.
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Opinion
The positions on this topic are diverse in Armenia, so in the interview, you can see here, we tried to find out the opinion of media expert Samvel Martirosyan. The specialist argues that the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and Russia are not fulfilling their role as allies, which negatively impacts their public relations. They suggest that information about this issue is being suppressed, and the authorities attempt to portray Western security missions as espionage rather than effective measures. The specialist believes that public opinion in Armenia has little influence on foreign policy and that the declining trust in Russia can be exploited by both the authorities and the opposition. He also highlights the separation between positive attitudes towards Europe and the lack of expectations for tangible change, which could potentially benefit Russian propaganda.
The aims of monitoring capacities are:
In Armenia
In Armenia
In Armenia
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to contribute to stabilisation and security-related efforts in the area.
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building confidence between the two sides.
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Through regular and ad-hoc reporting the EU team monitors the situation on the Armenian side of the internationally recognised border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Allowing the EU to better support the work of the two parties’ border commissions
October 17, 2022 upon proposal of the High Representative Josep Borrell, the decision on the setting up of the EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia was taken at the Foreign Affairs Council. It was decided to temporarily deploy 40 civilian monitoring experts along the Armenian side of the international border with Azerbaijan upon Armenia’s request based on resources of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia. The grounds for this decision was the agreement reached in Prague on October 6 .
In Prague, EUMCAP was deployed to Armenia for a maximum of two months. The EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia completed its mandate on 19 December after two months of operation.
Josep Borrell and Ararat Mirzoyan at the meeting
The deployment of 40 European monitoring experts has proved to be effective and contributed to building confidence in an unstable situation. Today we start a new phase in the EU’s engagement in the South Caucasus, with a transitional team that will prepare the ground for a possible longer term EU mission in Armenia, with the ultimate goal of contributing to sustainable peace in the region.
Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security policy
Current situation
The public opinion in Armenia is becoming worse and worse toward Russia after the recent events in Artsakh and blocking of Lachin and the neglecting position of Russia as a vital ally toward violation of the internationally recognized border of the Republic of Armenia. Despite the fact that most people still consider Russia the most important economic and political ally, the trust of the population is constantly decreasing. Most of the specialists consider impossible economic and political independence of Armenia from Russia in the present. But no one can neglect the importance of public opinion in forming foreign policy in the future.
The situation in the country connected to negative behavior of Russia toward EUMA is still the topic of hot discussions and debates in Armenia.That’s why there are a lot of opinions about this issue in Armenia and all of them could be backed with valid facts because of the controversial situation in the country. All the solutions are appearing in the deadlock.