Zakharova: Moscow in its contacts with Azerbaijani and other CIS  partners will continue explaining risks of deepening cooperation with  NATO

ArmInfo.Moscow has already given an assessment of the West's policy in the South  Caucasus on the example of the visit of Patrick Pryor, the head of the European-Eurasian Intelligence Center at the US Department of Defense, to Baku.

This was stated by the official representative of  the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova at a briefing on  September 20 in response to a request to assess the frequent visits  of U.S. officials to Baku.  "Now the British MI6 has also arrived  there. Of course, such voyages by an aggressive military bloc do not  contribute to increasing stability and security in the region. We  understand perfectly well that the West's efforts are primarily aimed  at destabilizing Russia's neighboring countries, rather than  establishing cooperation with them," the diplomat noted.

At the same time, she emphasized that Moscow, in its contacts with  Azerbaijani and other CIS partners, will continue to explain the  risks of deepening cooperation with NATO. "This is fraught with the  loss of part of national sovereignty and domestic political  turbulence," Zakharova explained.

At the same time, she avoided answering a question about the  subversive activities of Azerbaijani NGOs in relation to Russia.  Instead, she expressed her hope for a time when Azerbaijani  journalists would take interest in the Russian-Azerbaijani agenda,  and Armenian journalists would focus on relations between Yerevan and  Moscow. "The ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani conflicts should not damage  the relationships of both Baku and Yerevan with Russia. We understand  that this is a challenging situation, with hidden motives at play.  Western slanders do not benefit either Armenian or Azerbaijani  society, but the Westerners use them for their own purposes, aimed at  undermining the interests of the Russian Federation in the region,"  she said, promising to communicate the stance of the Russian  Federation on NGO activities to the Azerbaijani side.