On August 15, Armenian sources circulated sensational news: evil Azerbaijanis opened fire on members of the EU mission in Armenia! Of course, no one even tried to explain why this was reported by Armenian sources and not by the mission itself. Moreover, the EU monitoring mission initially denied the Armenian fabrications on its Twitter (X) account, saying that, according to their information, the EU monitors had not been not targeted. And then… the tweet disappeared. It was simply deleted, without explanation. After that, Telegram dumpsters close to Pashinyan circulated an “exclusive interview”: someone with an obscured face but quite recognizable distinguishing patches of the EU monitoring mission describes how the Azerbaijanis were firing on the Europeans.
We could, of course, assume with a sufficient degree of certainty what happened. Armenian strategists would very much like to put the European observers under fire of the Azerbaijani side. But the trouble is that the European monitors report their patrol routes not only to Yerevan but also to Baku, and the Azerbaijanis are somehow in no hurry to shoot at the Europeans at Yerevan’s request.
This time, it appears that the Europeans were led to the point of the intended provocation, where the usual multi-pronged scheme was played out: open fire at Azerbaijani positions and by the time the Azerbaijani Armed Forces begin to respond, bring the EU monitors under fire. Of course, the members of the EU mission were not informed about the details. Gendarmes and policemen could get scared and refuse to participate. And when after the coordinated squealing of Yerevan’s infodumpsters the Europeans did a double take and said that no one had fired on them, the European Commission was pressured quite effectively and forced to remove the inconvenient tweet. But Yerevan thought that was not enough. It was then that this Eurocircus was staged with the help of someone with EU patches and a blurred face.
Now, setting diplomatic politeness aside, one really wants to ask: What is this shitshow? If the Europeans were indeed fired upon, why is it the Armenian side, but not the European mission itself, that reports about it? Why does the EU mission first refute everything and then delete the refutation because of the whims of the Yerevan leadership? The performance with this person with a blurred face is beyond comprehension. Is it really an EU monitor? Or are the distinguishing patches of the European Commission being passed around in Armenia in the same way as the logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross? Is the European Commission aware that an interview with an anonymous subject can in no way be considered an official statement and cannot have any official weight at all? And most importantly, against the background of the information storm, the European Commission is in no hurry to make things clear and give explanations as to what happened. What are we to make of this? Are retired French gendarmes and German police officers unable to determine whether they were fired upon or not? Or… is the EU mission with a NATO flavor so afraid of upsetting the host country and trying so hard to indulge all of Yerevan’s whims that it has already turned into a propaganda department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry?
Yes, this mission is operating in the territory of Armenia. Formally, Azerbaijan cannot demand termination of its activities. But Brussels must realize how all these twists and turns affect the credibility of the European Union as a mediator and the Azerbaijan-EU relations. The EU leadership is fully capable of reining in its mission and reminding it that all these retired gendarmes and policemen do not represent Armenia in the European Union, but the European Union in Armenia, with all the ensuing consequences. It is a matter of political will and understanding of what is at stake. Baku has already drawn the right conclusions. Now it is Brussels’ turn.
