BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 20. The potential effectiveness of the EU mission in Armenia is questionable, Russia's Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing, TurkicWorld reports.
"The question remains: what is the specific aim of surveillance, and have the Azerbaijani authorities accepted this mission? I doubt such a mandate would be accepted there. Yerevan appears to have taken this decision unilaterally. It encourages investigation into the potential efficacy of such a mission," he emphasized.
The Armenian parliament has approved an agreement with the EU regarding the status of the EU civilian observation mission along Azerbaijan's border. This agreement defines the mission's activities in Armenia and its functions within the country's borders. Members of the mission are immune to imprisonment or arrest, and personnel are protected from criminal prosecution in the host country. Additionally, EU observers' facilities are considered inviolable.
Furthermore, European observers are exempt from customs, visa, and immigration laws. They have the freedom to travel throughout the country without restriction.
The EU monitoring mission in Armenia began operations on January 23, 2023, with 100 people. However, on December 11, the same year, it was decided to raise their number to 209 individuals.
