Russian FM: West does not seek to bring peace and stability to the South Caucasus

Western countries do not seek to bring peace and stability to Armenia and the South Caucasus in general. Their task is to squeeze Moscow, Azernews reports, citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov telling in an exclusive interview with TASS.

The Russian minister pointed out that Armenia faces some challenges.

"Moreover, it will not be possible to buy them with the help of Western players. The US and the EU, unlike Russia, do not seek to bring peace and stability to the republic and the South Caucasus as a whole. Their task is completely different - to squeeze Moscow and other regionalists, to create a new hotbed of tension following the Balkans, the Middle East, and Ukraine," Lavrov added.

At the same time, as the head of the Russian diplomatic ministry stressed that the way out of the difficult situation is obvious - to fulfill the trilateral agreements signed by Yerevan, Baku, and Moscow at the highest level.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also added that Armenia's deepening dialogue with NATO leads to the loss of defense sovereignty.

"The Russian Federation expects Armenia to be aware of the threat of loss of sovereignty of the state in the sphere of national defense and security due to deepening dialogue with NATO."

The head of the diplomatic ministry stressed that this year Armenia took part in several events with the alliance. According to him, the republic continues to modernize its armed forces according to NATO standards, and its military is undergoing training in some North Atlantic bloc states.

"This cannot but cause us concern. We have repeatedly drawn the attention of our Armenian colleagues that the true goal of the NATO members is to strengthen their positions in the region and create conditions for manipulation according to the 'divide and rule' scheme," Lavrov added.