ArmInfo.First of all, the Russian Federation itself should determine its position who it is with. RA Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan told reporters on March 6, commenting on the statement of Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov that Yerevan should determine its positionon the issue of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
According to the Secretary of the RA Security Council, it is Moscow that, being a CSTO member, should determine its position. "During the negotiations with the Organization since May 2021, the Armenian side has insisted on recognizing Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the CSTO refused to do so, without even condemning the occupation of part of the country's territory. Against this background, it would be good if Russia, and not Armenia as a member of the CSTO, would determine its position in relation to our country," the Secretary of the RA Security Council emphasized.
He added that at least until December 2021, Armenia linked 96% of its security issues with the Russian Federation. Since that time, Azerbaijan has carried out aggression against Armenia three times, occupying part of the country's territory. "In this situation, the question arises: is Armenia to blame for these attacks? Definitely not! The problem is that Armenia's allies did not support it and did not help," the Security Council Secretary emphasized.
For this reason, he continued, Yerevan is diversifying its foreign policy. Over the past few years, Armenia's acquisition of Russian military equipment has decreased from 96% to 10%. "This means that Yerevan is pursuing a policy of political, economic and military diversification of the areas of ensuring the security of the state, finding partners in various countries of the world, including India and France," said the Secretary of the RA Security Council, adding that, for example, in January 2024 alone, Armenia's trade turnover with the United Arab Emirates reached 16% compared to 4% for the same period last year. All this, Grigoryan continued, is an example of diversification. "Armenia wants to have good relations with the West, with its neighbors, including Turkey and Azerbaijan," the Security Council Secretary emphasized.
He noted that today, during a meeting with members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia from the ruling "Civil Contract" faction, the issue of economic security of Armenia was discussed, which concerns all states with which Yerevan maintains relations.
In the long-term perspective, Armenia should not have problems within the Eurasian Economic Union. But as Grigoryan noted, it is quite possible that they will come forward in this direction, and that is why Yerevan is actively diversifying the areas of cooperation with other countries. "With some it works, with others it doesn't, but the work is going on," the Secretary of the RA Security Council stated. Earlier in Antalya, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the statements that the CSTO did not help Yerevan are groundless and do not correspond to reality. He stated that Armenia should determine its position in the CSTO. "Moscow is waiting for Yerevan's response," said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressing regret that Armenia has chosen the line of worsening relations with Russia over Karabakh. "These are not truly allied relations ," Lavrov emphasized, saying that Armenia is ruled by the same 'political engineers' who rule the whole world from their apartments.