Our countries remain allies. The interests of the Armenian people are inseparable from the neighborly relations with Russia, and we hope that the leadership of the Armenian state will take this into account amid the current geopolitical transformations and make the right choice. I want to emphasize that this is not true from the point of view of Russia, but from the point of view of the interests of the people of Armenia. Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stated this during Wednesday’s press briefing—and at the request of a reporter, commenting on the statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that, for a number of reasons, Russia cannot be the main partner of Armenia in the defense and technical sectors.
"Specifically, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia have a reliable bilateral legal framework in terms of security domain and technico-military cooperation. (…) and both countries have obligations to each other, including the protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security," Zakharova said.
She noted that Armenia is also under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) collective guarantors, including in case of possible aggression. In order to develop and strengthen the Collective Security Treaty, in 2016, Russia and Armenia signed an agreement on a joint group of troops, which is intended to ensure the security of the parties in the Caucasus collective security region.
"And in this regard, the return of active cooperation within the framework of the CSTO stems primarily from the interests of Armenia," she emphasized.
Zakharova added that Armenia has at its disposal wide organizational opportunities, and its potential based on many years of experience.
"We are convinced that unlike the fake monitors of the European Union mission [in Armenia], which deal with matters far from the stated goals, the CSTO is able to play a stabilizing role in the South Caucasus," concluded the official representative of the Russian MFA.
