The South Caucasus is an arena of confrontation with Russia for the European Union (EU), and Moscow sees the pressure that the countries of the region are under, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, RIA Novosti reports.

"For them [i.e. the EU], the South Caucasus is an arena of confrontation with the Russian Federation. We see what methods of pressure they are subjecting to those countries that declare that they will join the European Union or become candidates for membership.

They are required to give up their independence even before their official membership in the European Union," Grushko noted. He emphasized that the EU, as a fundamental condition, requires countries to join the shared foreign and security policy, joining all the statements that they make.

"And 80 percent of these statements they make about Russia. Therefore, it is simply impossible not to see the risks," the Russian deputy foreign minister added.