West moving to South Caucasus with anti-Russian agenda - Moscow 

ArmInfo. The Western agenda in the South Caucasus does not always correspond to the interests of the  countries of the region, said Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin, commenting on the strengthening of military cooperation between Paris and Yerevan.

"Extra-regionals are moving to the South Caucasus with their own  agenda, which, to put it mildly, does not always correspond to the  interests of regional states. Today, Western countries are moving to  the South Caucasus with an openly confrontational anti-Russian  agenda. We believe that this will not contribute to stability and  security in Transcaucasia," Galuzin said in a conversation with RIA  Novosti.

"We believe that regional security can be most effectively ensured by  the efforts of the states of the corresponding region. We are for  regional responsibility both in terms of ensuring security and in  terms of economic integration in the South Caucasus and other  regions," the diplomat added.

On June 18, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastian Lecornu  Armenia signed a contract for the purchase of French Caesar  self-propelled guns (155-mm self-propelled artillery unit developed  and produced by the French company Nexter). And on June 17, the  Armenian Ministry of Defense reported that during the working visit  of Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan to Paris, an agreement on  military- technical cooperation was signed between the RA Ministry of  Defense and the French military-industrial company KNDS.

And already on June 19, the deputy editor-in-chief of the French  publication Le Figaro, Jean-Christophe Buisson, reported that Armenia  had purchased 36 of the latest CAESAR self-propelled artillery  systems from France, which are planned to be delivered to the  Republic within 15 months.