Russian Deputy FM: Actions of the USA and Europe in the South Caucasus are aimed at weakening Russia’s position

On the sidelines of the XVI Verona Eurasian Economic Forum, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko commented to Alpha News on the impact of the EU activity on Armenian-Russian relations.

“If we look from a geopolitical point of view, we see that the West’s goal to restrain Russia is expressed not only in the forms in which this restraint is carried out. This is a hybrid war unleashed against Russia in the economic and information spheres, the demonization of our country, and attempts of military pressure. This line of the West runs through various geopolitical theaters.

And, unfortunately, we can state that what the United States and Europe are doing today in the South Caucasus is also part of this geopolitical strategy—to weaken Russia’s traditional position as an important balancing and stabilizing element and to create tensions around our borders. And this is the essence of many of the EU’s actions, no matter how well-intentioned they may be. Tragically, it is the reality of today,” he said.

Commenting on how the problems in the Caucasus should be resolved, Grushko noted that Russia firmly maintains its position that the agreements reached in Moscow at the level of three leaders—the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia—should be fulfilled.

“There are all the elements to stabilize the situation and resolve all problems peacefully in accordance with the norms of international law. Today we are at the Verona Forum, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia has already noted that part of this decision should be the opening of borders and new transport corridors, as envisaged in this trilateral statement.

And this is one of the main elements of stabilizing the situation, since it is necessary to work towards making the South Caucasus one of the regions through which the North-South and West-East transport routes will run. The importance will gradually increase, resulting in economic growth, while economic growth will definitely contribute to resolving political problems,” Glushko said.

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister also commented on the possibility of cooperation between Russia and the EU on the unblocking of communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“In the current reality, we are talking about one region, and if we look, say, to the northwest, the EU has stopped railway communication with Russia. The Baltic countries, the key links of the North-South and West-East transport corridors, are now tied up with barbed wire. They are digging anti-tank trenches and reducing vehicle checkpoints. A law will be introduced in a few days in Latvia that provides for the confiscation of cars registered in Russia. What kind of transport cooperation can we talk about with the EU under these conditions?

When our Western European colleagues finally come to the senses, of course, any interaction will be possible if it is built to equally meet mutual interests. We have accumulated quite a rich experience of such interactions in the past, but today we see no real prospects.

We see that the European Union is taking a course towards geopolitical rivalry with Russia. As I have already said, this concerns not just the restraint of the Russian Federation, that is, the deprivation of the resources for economic, political, and technological development, but also deploying such a competition in many regions of the world. This applies both to Africa and Latin America, where the revival of EU policy relates to this and nothing else,” Grushko said.