Russian Deputy FM: We hope that Yerevan will have enough political wisdom to understand the illusory nature of the West’s promises

Moscow has been and remains committed to the entire range of agreements with Yerevan, both at the bilateral level and as part of common integration structures, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“Unfortunately, there has been a sharp narrowing of bilateral political contacts under the influence of Western narratives. Unfounded criticism of Russia, the CSTO, and the established security system is being heard more and more from Yerevan. This is, to say the least, unconstructive and shortsighted. Yerevan’s full-scale participation in the work of the CSTO meets the aspirations of the Armenian people and serves to promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus. No matter what the Westerners promised, pushing the Armenian authorities to ‘freeze’ participation in the Organization, there are no effective alternatives to the CSTO as a mechanism for ensuring Armenia’s security today,” he said.

According to Galuzin, the work on building the CSTO’s potential is moving steadily, leaving Yerevan behind.

“New crisis response algorithms are being developed, the capabilities of the Organization’s collective forces are being strengthened, taking into account the Russian combat experience, and serious policy documents are being adopted to ensure the border security of our allies in Central Asia. Further erosion of Armenia’s sovereignty in security and the transition to Western patterns under the ‘paper umbrella’ of the United States and NATO will simply make it impossible to maintain a common defense space with Russia and within the framework of the CSTO,” he said.

Galuzin stressed that Moscow has repeatedly and at various levels clearly expressed its readiness to discuss issues of concern to Yerevan.

“We stressed that Moscow has been and remains committed to the entire range of agreements, both at the bilateral level and as part of common integration structures, and has not renounced its obligations to its allies. At the same time, we have not received any response to our various initiatives. We hope that the Armenian authorities will have enough political wisdom to understand the illusory promises of the West and the critical importance of relations with Russia in terms of sovereignty, security, and economic development of the republic,” Galuzin concluded.