Shoigu accuses Armenian authorities of seeking to sever ties with Russia

Armenia’s authorities have taken a course toward severing ties with Russia and strengthening cooperation with the West, and Yerevan’s drive to expand engagement with NATO is evident, said Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council.

“The most telling situation has developed with Armenia. I would recall that in the 1990s, Russia saved this country from economic and energy collapse, and over ten years of EAEU membership, its economy grew almost threefold. At the same time, the current authorities have taken a course toward severing ties with Russia and strengthening cooperation with the West,” Shoigu said on Thursday at a meeting of members of the presidium of the scientific-expert council.

“There is a clear drive by Yerevan to expand engagement with NATO, along with a frankly consumerist attitude toward mechanisms of regional integration, above all the EAEU and the CSTO,” he said.