The EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia has been making headlines in Armenia in recent weeks, Euractiv writes.
As noted, despite its positive contributions, the mission has been constantly the target of systematic disinformation campaigns from Russia and Azerbaijan alike, aimed at discrediting its role and purpose and presenting it as a tool for the West hybrid warfare in the region.
The civilian nature of the EUMA has led Russian and Azerbaijani sources to accuse the mission of intelligence-gathering. Another recurring narrative accuses the mission of functioning as an EU propaganda tool against Azerbaijan and Russia.
Russian and Azerbaijani media have painted the mission as a neo-colonial EU project. They claim it is part of the EU’s supposed aspirations to create a post-modernist empire, extending its influence under the guise of conflict resolution. Some others instead aim to delegitimize the mission by presenting it as merely inefficient despite the significant decrease in military incidents between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Interestingly, all of the abovementioned narratives have been circulated within Armenia by media outlets and experts reportedly affiliated with Russia. Despite continuous efforts by Russian and Azerbaijani officials to discredit the mission, the EU’s continued presence and increased support to stabilize the volatile security situation in the Caucasus help Armenia to reinforce its sovereignty and democracy,” reads the article.
