EU Had Hopes for 'Another Scenario' in Relations with Baku: Politico

The head of the European Union’s representation in Azerbaijan, Ambassador Vagif Sadigov, has stated that the presence of the EU mission near the Azerbaijani border raises concerns in Baku.

“This is a bilateral issue between Armenia and the European Union, but it is taking place a few hundred meters from our border posts and in a highly militarized zone, where we have Russian border guards, Armenian border guards, Russian regular units, Armenian regular units, and closer to the Iranian border, the Iranian armed forces. Now we also have the EU mission. Thus, we have legitimate security questions,” Sadigov said in an interview with Politico.

According to him, this mission can be seen as Brussels’ attempt to strengthen its presence in the South Caucasus region.

In turn, a senior EU diplomatic service representative, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Politico that the EU had “hoped for another scenario” in its relations with Baku, noting that Brussels shares information with Azerbaijan regarding patrols at the Armenian border.

“We share all relevant information with Azerbaijan regarding patrols and others, as we do not want any issues,” said the European official.