Thursday, September 5 2024 11:27

ArmInfo. Russia acts as an honest mediator in the settlement of regional problems, with a high degree of efficiency makes efforts in the interests of peace and maintaining a balance of interests, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin stated in an interview with the socio-political publication "Soyuzniki. CSTO". 

According to him, Russia does not pursue opportunistic goals, works  for the common good, with unconditional consideration of the  legitimate interests of all its partners. "This is a real  contribution to the future of the region - an attempt to harmonize  relations in the South Caucasus, find common approaches to solving  emerging problems and resolve contradictions for the sake of  establishing peace both between individual countries and in the  region as a whole. This is a philosophical concept that has become a  reality.  It was enshrined in documents and began to be implemented.  Ensuring stability, security and prosperity in the South Caucasus has  always been and remains a priority for Russia. We intend to further  develop mutually beneficial cooperation with all states in the  region," the Russian diplomat added.

When asked whether there is a formula for achieving peace and  stability in the South Caucasus, Kopyrkin noted that Moscow believes  that the fate and future of the region should be determined  exclusively by the countries of the region and neighboring partner  states. According to him, no one from outside will bring peace and  prosperity to the common home.

"If we talk about the tasks of ensuring long-term regional security,  stability and socio-economic development, then the plans of the  "collective West" to militarize the region and expand the military-  political influence of the EU and NATO in it are completely  inconsistent with them. The key to the prosperity of the South  Caucasus is an inclusive dialogue, in particular within the framework  of the Consultative Regional Platform "3+3", the search for mutually  acceptable answers to emerging issues and countering the geopolitical  dictate of extra-regional forces," the Russian ambassador believes.

Then Kopyrkin hastened to emphasize that Armenia remains a member of  the CSTO and is a participant in numerous bilateral agreements in the  military and military-technical fields.

"We are firmly convinced that Armenia's full participation in the  work of the CSTO meets, first of all, the interests of the Armenian  people, and serves to maintain peace and stability in the South  Caucasus region.  Membership in the Organization, as well as close  ties with our country in the military sphere, have become a key  factor in the progressive development of independent Armenia in  recent decades. Whatever the Western "well-wishers" who are  increasingly courting Yerevan may promise, there are no effective  alternatives to the CSTO as a mechanism for ensuring Armenia's  security today," the diplomat said.

Kopyrkin is also confident that many of the risks that Armenia faces  today could have been mitigated if Yerevan had agreed to the proposal  to implement a set of measures to stabilize the situation on the  border with Azerbaijan through the CSTO in September 2022. "We were  talking about serious initiatives, including military-technical  assistance, sending a monitoring mission, and assistance in training  border troops. Unfortunately, the Armenian leadership chose to invite  a mission from the European Union, which does not protect the state's  borders at all, but under the guise of "monitoring" is collecting  intelligence against Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia," the ambassador  concluded.