The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about the state of Russian-Armenian relations. The minister said that Moscow considered Yerevan its ally.
Lavrov said that Russia and Armenia were legal allies. He added that Yerevan understood the importance of Russia for the security and economic development of Armenia.
Lavrov emphasized that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had the same opinion too. The Armenian Minister recently noted that, despite the bad times in the countries' relations, their importance cannot be overestimated.
The Russian Foreign Minister added that these words are very important. According to him, this is a reaction to the actions of Western countries to separate Armenia from Russia.
The minister noted that Armenia received the most benefits from the EAEU in proportional terms. He said that 35% of its economy was realized through the country's participation in the union, and trade turnover in 2023 amounted to more than $20 billion, of which 37% was the share of the EAEU, 13% was the European Union's share, and 3% was the United States' share.
"Armenia, being a small country, contributes much less to the EAEU than others, including financial contributions, but has absolutely equal rights with everyone, including the Russian Federation, when decisions are made and members of the Eurasian Economic Union vote",
Sergey Lavrov said.
The Foreign Minister expressed hope for an early meeting between Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan for a frank discussion of all issues.
In addition to this, Lavrov said that Armenia itself cannot yet determine the zone of responsibility of the CSTO on its territory. He pointed out the need to complete the delimitation of borders before talking about the zone of responsibility.
Moreover, the minister called Yerevan's statements about the inaction of the Russian peacekeeping contingent on the territory of Azerbaijan incorrect.
