DISINFO: The EU aims to destabilise the South Caucasus region through the EUMA
SUMMARY
There are serious questions about the true goals of EUMA and its activities in Armenia. Despite being called 'civilian', the fact that the mission includes retired military specialists and police gendarmes does not at all indicate a peaceful activity contributing to peace. These facts should be viewed as an attempt by the then-French-dominated EU to destabilise the region and create new hotbeds of tension.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative claiming the European Union is attempting to destabilise the South Caucasus region. Pro-Kremlin outlets and experts often assert that the South Caucasus should remain exclusively within Russia’s sphere of geopolitical influence.
Therefore, any presence of the EU in the region is presented as a threat, such as an intelligence service, a tool to monitor Iranian and Russian troops or destabilise the region. The narrative also advances the pro-Kremlin disinformation claim that the West aims to encircle Russia, destabilising its border regions.
Although the narrative has been debunked several times, pro-Kremlin and other Russian state-controlled outlets publish it over and over again. This article was a response to the EUMA's publication on its social media account about its successes.
In fact, the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) was launched by the decision of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 20 February 2023. EUMA is tasked with observing and reporting on the situation on the ground, contributing to human security in conflict-affected areas and supporting the confidence-building between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where possible. EUMA is an essential component of the EU’s efforts in supporting peace and stability in the region. EUMA observers and civilian experts come from 25 EU Member States and the Third Contributing State, Canada. Through its presence, EUMA also contributes to ensuring an environment conducive to the normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, supported by the EU.
It is run from the EU civilian missions headquarters in Brussels. The entire chain of command is civilian. The Head of Mission, Markus Ritter, is a senior civilian police officer.
The piece also groundlessly claims that EUMA's operations are unlawful under international law because they are carried out without Azerbaijan's approval. This is also not true. The EU established the Mission in response to an official request by the Armenian authorities. The mission operates entirely within Armenia's territory.
Finally, the article also contains a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the undemocratic EU and the dictate of larger countries (in this case France) over EU members.
See more cases such as The EU openly abuses relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan through EUMA, EU mission in Armenia is a military intelligence operation and The EU mission in Armenia is turning into a NATO mission.