Asked whether the agreement on establishing a united defense Russian and Armenian forces will affect the NATO's relationship with Armenia, Jamie Shea said, that the NATO cooperated with Russia well a few years ago. " We were together in the Balkans. Russia helped us to prevent drug trafficking in Afghanistan. Sometimes we forget, that we had planned to carry out the NATO-Russian co-operation in the Mediterranean, before the illegal annexation of the Crimea," said Jamie Shea. The dialogue within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council is currently underway. "NATO fairly defends itself from Russia. It maintains a dialogue to try to persuade Russia, that it makes no sense to confront, and that it will be best for both sides to resume the cooperation," said the NATO Deputy Assistant.

“If we are talking about countries like Armenia,” said Jamie Shea, “which manage to maintain good relations with both Russia and the NATO, it gives us a reason to think, that Europe is not as divided, as it seems. It gives us a hope, that we will manage to restore the architecture of the European security. It also sends a message to Russia, that while having good relationships with the NATO, countries do not automatically turn into anti-Russian. This is another reason to make sure, that Russia has no reason to afraid of the NATO, " said Jamie Shea.

As earlier reported, on November 14 the Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order, which approves the agreement on establishing united defense Russian and Armenian forces.