According to Caliber.Az, units of the Armenian armed forces are pulling additional forces and combat equipment towards the direction of Gorunzur/the Lachin district of Azerbaijan.
However, some people do not want to see this. The European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy civilian deployment (EUMA), for example. On their X (former Twitter) page it states, that “the EUMA daily monitors military and security situation from 4 operating bases patrolling alongside the Armenian-Azerbaijani border area. Based on information on the ground, we see no unusual military movement or buildup, especially at the entrance to the Lachin corridor.”
The understatement of the phrase “we do not see any unusual military movement or buildup”. It is interesting to find out, what do the retired European policemen consider to be an “unusual movement and buildup of troops”? Apparently, they would consider the movement of divisions, corps, and even a march-throw of the whole army of the conditional group “Center”. The European Mission is trying to inform Baku that the increase of the Armenian army personnel in the zone of the conditional border and the targeting of additional artillery installations in the direction of the “Lachin” border checkpoint is all within the normal order. That is, it authorizes the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan. Well, fine, let’s write it down as such.
What would the representatives of the mission say if the Azerbaijani armed forces retaliate against these objects in the event of an armed provocation by the Armenian armed forces? Could it be that they would hastily bury the corpses and claim, that the Azerbaijanis have been shooting at a completely empty and deserted area? That would be confusing.
The real confusing thing, however, is the leitmotif of the presence of retired European policemen (and active intelligence scouts) in the hills of Armenia. These poor ones are being pushed around, back and forth. Look at their tired faces. In particular, the bewildered expression of the Head of the mission, Markus Ritter, makes it clear that this is not his cup of tea. Apparently, in the countries where he had previously worked, namely Georgia, Afghanistan and Sudan, he had not had to face, on the one hand, such a bizarre phenomenon as the Armenian idea, and on the other – such an experienced player as Azerbaijan.
You have to agree, that it is one thing to hear from afar about the suffering of a small Christian people, to sympathize with them sitting on the shores of the Rhine, and quite another to be in daily contact with representatives of this people, who are “enlightening you” every second that everything – starting from the stripes on your shoulders to the engine in your Volkswagen – have been invented by Armenians.
And the astonishment increases when that same German faces Azerbaijanis, that are not all dressed up in some tribal clothing but is rather facing a military man, standing straight, with thorough military training, equipped with the latest military armoury. With politicians standing behind their backs, playing a grandmaster’s worth party of chess with the West.
Imagine the confusion of Ritter, who came to listen to and support the complaints of the “enlightening people”, of a civilization surrounded by “barbarians”, and is instead forced to inspect villages, where Azerbaijanis used to live and to obtain information from the Armenians living there about the former owners of the dwellings. Awkward situation. Baku faced these difficult conditions, in particular its initiative to return Western Azerbaijanis to their homeland and the corresponding appeals by the Community of Western Azerbaijan to international institutions.
Back in March of this year, though, Ritter allowed himself to say in an interview with the Deutsche Welle that if Azerbaijan does not attack Armenia in the spring, the mission can be considered a success. However, a couple of months later, pushed by a whole barrage of mockingly indignant materials in the Azerbaijani media, he retracted his statement, saying that it was not made during an interview, but during an informal conversation with journalists and was not an EU assessment.
Yet now, it seems, high commanders in Europe finally gave the missionaries a reason to snap at Baku again. It is also noteworthy that the European Mission is actually speaking on behalf of the Armenian government, thereby emphasizing, on the one hand, the loss of Armenia’s sovereignty and on the other, the assertion of this EU sovereignty. That is, this very mission is in fact either a military agency or a gendarmerie of the Armenian Republic.
So, the Armenian project, led by Western curators, strained in an unthinkable effort amid the upcoming UN Security Council meeting. It seems that all of them – Armenians and their patrons – have put all their bets on it. They hope that the Armenian nag, chased by the leading jockeys, will come out first.
But even the most skilful rider can’t come first on a dying mare. All this action rather resembles some kind of vulgar vaudeville, where at the end the smashed cast and actors, still wearing their wigs, knock each other down, fall into each other’s arms and make out, getting their stage makeup all mushed together, after which a curtain is thrown on them, covering the scene with a cloud of dust.
Also, the EU mission is somewhat reminiscent of Mollah Nasraddin, who could not find his glasses anywhere until his wife told him he had them on his nose. Yes, fellow policemen and intelligence scouts, you have not only glasses on your nose but also binoculars, and other magnifying lenses, or to put it in modern language, gadgets (especially in the prestigious devices of night vision, if you recall the sexual scandal in Gyumri), but also other fiascos…
I am writing these words and I can literally feel the mist of Zangazur making it’s way through the words of Markus Ritter’s future vindication…
Murad Abiyev
Caliber.Az
