The West did not impose the presence of an EU monitoring mission on Armenia; it was the decision of the Armenian side, related to the country’s experience. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, told reporters about this on Tuesday.

"In May and November 2021, there was an attack [by Azerbaijan] on the sovereign territory of Armenia; the same in September last year. And taking into account that experience that the existing military guarantees do not work, Armenia has invited the EU civilian [monitoring] mission to create certain guarantees. Security guarantees should not be considered only military; they are economic, too," said Grigoryan.

Reflecting on Russia’s comments on this EU civilian monitoring mission, the secretary of the Security Council of Armenia noted that he cannot speak for Moscow about latter’s concerns.

"We regularly talk with our colleagues in Moscow, discuss issues, present our approaches. For example, we say that there have been attacks on the sovereign territory of Armenia in recent years, that danger continues, and to neutralize it, it is necessary to create international guarantees," he said.

Grigoryan emphasized that Armenia has taken many steps toward unblocking Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), except for possible actions in the Lachin corridor itself.

"By the document of November 9, [2020] these obligations are placed on Russia and Azerbaijan; and we hope that they will fulfill it," added the head of the Security Council of Armenia.

Also, Grigoryan emphasized that Armenia is ready for the reopening of the border and the normalization of relations with Turkey at any time.