Yerevan intends to indirectly comply with Baku's demand to exclude third-country forces from border areas between the two nations.

Axar.az reports this information was published by "Hraparak."

In 2022, EU observers were deployed to the Azerbaijan-Armenia border under a "civilian mission" for two months. In February 2023, Armenia unilaterally extended this mission to two years without Azerbaijan's consent, expanding the scope and increasing the number of "observers." Observers from non-EU countries like Canada, many of whom are former military or intelligence personnel, gave the impression of NATO presence at the border, which Azerbaijan opposes.

The mission's mandate expires in February 2025. Although the EU seeks an extension, Yerevan has yet to provide an official response.

According to the publication, Yerevan has devised a way to avoid extending the mission:

The Armenian government is exploring ways to phase out the EU observers. The West does not want to end the monitoring mission it initiated last year. The Armenian authorities propose a compromise: after February, if Armenia submits the necessary application, the mandate can be extended.

However, the government plans to change the mission's format, according to which the observers would observe the border not on the ground, but would work in offices in Yerevan or, say, in Jermuk, other cities, and based on the information received from the relevant agencies will follow up on the situation on the border.