Deputy foreign minister on Russia’s negative reaction to Armenia’s European integration: EU policy now is to prepare for war with Russia

Alexander Grushko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, speaking on the sidelines of the 19th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul, commented to Alpha News on the European Union’s interest in the South Caucasus region and the reasons for Russia’s negative reaction to Armenia’s European integration policy.

“It is all very clear. Look: the European Union has described Russia as its main strategic threat, as a direct, immediate threat, and now also a long-term one. EU policy now is to prepare for war with Russia. That is the first point. And they really are preparing for this war. I spoke about this in detail. The combined military budgets of EU countries have already reached 450 billion euros. If they meet the target adopted in NATO, which is to reach 5% of GDP for military needs, military spending will amount to one trillion euros. Moreover, they openly declare that Russia must be contained in all spheres and in all regions, including the Balkans, the South Caucasus and the Baltic region. Now they have suddenly become concerned that the Arctic is supposedly becoming an arena of geopolitical rivalry and that it too must be contained,” Alexander Grushko said.

According to the deputy minister, the EU is using the South Caucasus to confront the Russian Federation, putting noticeable pressure on the states of the region that aspire to integrate into the European community or are considering such a prospect.

“The South Caucasus is, for the EU, an arena of confrontation with the Russian Federation. And we see what methods of pressure they apply to countries that declare they will join the European Union, or will think about joining it, or become candidates for accession. They are required to give up their agency and, even before their formal accession to the European Union, as a fundamental condition, to join the common foreign and security policy and to sign on to all the statements it makes. And 80% of such statements are about relations with Russia. So it is simply impossible not to see the risks. Yes, as the president said, we respect the choice of states. But we proceed from the assumption that the leaders of states correctly understand all the risks involved. Not to mention that the South Caucasus does not exist in a vacuum. There are historical bilateral ties there, and many of the states are members of the CSTO and the EAEU. There is a huge number of projects linked to these states as a whole. We proceed from the assumption that the less influence there is from countries that do not belong to the region, the more stable the situation will be. We ourselves are quite able to sit down and, as we have done for centuries, resolve all the problems that arise between us,” Grushko said.