Baku: Azerbaijan's president on Sunday criticized EU observers stationed along the border with Armenia, saying they act 'as if they are defending Armenia from us.'

According to Anadolu Agency, the presidential press service reported that Ilham Aliyev stated there is 'no need' to defend Armenia from Azerbaijan, emphasizing that Azerbaijan 'achieved what we wanted' in previous border conflicts.

During a meeting with families in Zangilan in the Karabakh region, which was liberated from nearly three decades of Armenian occupation from 2020 to 2023, Aliyev remarked, 'I said back then that if we fired a single shot . not a trace of them would remain. But they act as if they are defending Armenia from us.' He highlighted that Baku 'has no intention of destroying Armenia or depriving it of its independence.'

Aliyev criticized the narrative presented by some parties in Armenia, stating, 'Presenting themselves as false heroes at this event in Armenia -- saying that they 'stopped Azerbaijan, otherwise this aggressive Azerbaijan would have destroyed Armenia' -- is all nonsense. We have never had, do not have, and will not have such intentions unless further provocations are committed.'

He also cautioned against anti-Azerbaijani forces within Armenia's political sphere, warning that renewed provocations could destabilize the region. Azerbaijan and Armenia have engaged in a series of cross-border wars since the late 1980s, with the most recent conflict occurring in 2023 when Baku liberated its territory of Karabakh.

In January 2023, the Council of the EU was established to secure the border areas of Armenia and "ensure an environment conducive to normalization efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU."