EU Mission Observes ‘Were Not Present in the Area’ When Azerbaijani Attacked Armenian Troops

In response to questions about the whereabouts of EU observers during the incident where Azerbaijani forces entered Armenia and shot Armenian servicemen in Tegh village on April 11, ARMENPRESS asked for an answer from the EU mission.

According to the EU press service, the EU observers had patrolled the area of Tegh village on April 11, hours before the Azerbaijani attack took place. However, they were not present in the area during the shooting.

“The EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) conducted its regular patrol to the area of Tegh and Kornidzor villages during the morning of April 11 as part of the implementation of its mandate,” the EU press service said in response to ARMENPRESS's inquiry regarding whether the EU mission informed the EU about the Azerbaijani attack.

“However, they were not present in the area where the incident happened. In the late afternoon, the Mission was informed by Armenian authorities about the shooting,” EUMA added.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during the Parliament-Government question-and-answer session said, “Today, the EU press service has already confirmed that the Armenian side has informed them about the ongoing aggressive actions and the skirmish. They also noted that they were not at the scene at that moment, but they made their observations, they have their own reporting mechanism, they report to the EU External Action Service in Brussels, not publicly.”

On April 11, Armenian troops carrying out engineering works near the village of Tegh close to the border with Azerbaijan came under heavy gunfire in an unprovoked attack. Four Armenian soldiers were killed and six wounded.