Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on Armenia's possible exit from the CSTO, Yerevan pivot to the West, as well as assessed the Russian-Armenian relations.
Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the country will withdraw from the CSTO if the latter does not respond to Yerevan’s questions regarding the sovereign territory of Armenia.
Armenia and CSTO
The spokesperson said Yerevan’s possible withdrawal from the CSTO should be based on the real needs of the country; this decision does not correspond to the original national interests of Armenia. According to her, this was prepared somewhere in Brussels.
She noted the CSTO has never done anything bad against Armenia, despite all the fables that the West tried to “feed” the citizens of this country.
Zakharova said that "there is no need to hide behind the CSTO to evade responsibility" as the decision on a possible withdrawal will be taken by Yerevan itself. According to her, "flirting" with Western countries is dangerous because "these are security issues".
Anti-Russia course
Zakharova noted Moscow has warned Yerevan of the consequences of its involvement in the anti-Russian course by the West.
"Unfortunately, we have been observing this tendency for quite a long time and have been talking about it. We are discussing it with our Armenian partners, including in a very confidential manner, just to warn them," Maria Zakharova said.
The diplomat added that some of Moscow's arguments were admitted by Armenia, adding "even certain measures were taken."
The spokesperson added that Moscow sincerely wants Armenia to preserve its sovereignty and pursue a policy based on national interests. She stressed that the national interests “are not what someone in Brussels or somewhere else has written".
Russia's help to Armenia
Zakharova said that history is the answer to the doubts of the Armenian side regarding the sincerity of Russia's intentions.
"Our boys defended Armenia. The Russian leadership and Vladimir Putin personally made many efforts to stop the bloodshed in the region," Zakharova said.
