Russian Foreign Ministry: Heappey`s `revelations` are direct  confirmation of West`s aspirations to turn Armenia into anti-Russian  instrument in Transcaucasia

ArmInfo. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that it had paid attention to the statements of  British Deputy Defense Minister James Heappey who indicated his readiness to support Armenia in the face of "threats emanating from Russia."

"We are no longer surprised by the fact that London has stopped  hiding the anti-Russian essence of all its steps in the post-Soviet  space, including in the South Caucasus. But Heappey's 'revelations'  are also direct confirmation that the West is seeking to turn Armenia  into an instrument of its ongoing region of the line directed against  Moscow," the Foreign Ministry said, RIA Novosti reports.

The diplomatic department noted that this situation is a reason for  reflection for responsible politicians in Yerevan.

Earlier, UK Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, in response  to a question from British parliamentarians about "how he assesses  the potential benefits for the UK defense industry from Armenia's  withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)",  said that the UK recognizes Armenia's decision on freezing membership  in the CSTO as the "realization of Armenia's sovereign right and will  cooperate with Euro-Atlantic allies to support it in the face of  threats of retaliation from Russia."

At the same time, the official noted that the "freezing" of Armenia's  membership in the CSTO does not yet mean an official exit from the  organization.  "The UK is a signatory to the OSCE arms embargo and  therefore any benefits to the UK defense industry must be within  those limits. We will continue to work closely with Armenia to  explore opportunities for closer cooperation," he stressed in his  response to the British Parliament.