Russia remains committed to ensuring Armenia`s security

ArmInfo. Russia expects Armenia to join joint efforts to develop an equal and indivisible  security system in Eurasia. This was stated in an interview with  Izvestia by the Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin.  According to him, there are no real alternatives to Russian-Armenian  allied cooperation, including within the CSTO. 

"Speaking about issues of ensuring Armenia's security, we adhere to  the position that there are no comparable real alternatives to  Russian-Armenian allied cooperation, including within the CSTO.  Russia remains committed to its obligations to ensure Armenia's  security both bilaterally and through the CSTO," the Russian diplomat  noted.

At the same time, Kopyrkin added that Moscow also expects the active  involvement of Armenian partners in joint efforts to develop an equal  and indivisible security system on the Eurasian continent. In this  vein, he recalled that the idea was put forward by Russian President  Vladimir Putin on June 14 this year at a meeting with the leadership  of the Russian Foreign Ministry and was voiced again during the  recent BRICS summit in Kazan. 

At the same time, when asked whether the Russian ambassador sees a  change in Yerevan's position towards BRICS after the head of the  republic's government's trip to this summit, Kopyrkin noted that too  little time has passed to judge any new aspects in the position of  official Yerevan towards the activities of the association after the  summit in Kazan.

"We understand that our Armenian friends need time to take a closer  look at the activities of this interstate club. Objectively, the  presence of Armenia's most important partners in the BRICS family -  in addition to Russia, these are Iran, India, China and the UAE -  undoubtedly increases the attractiveness of this platform for  Yerevan. Azerbaijan and Turkey have also indicated their intention to  join it. This allows us to say that the entire South Caucasus feels  the gravity of BRICS," the Russian ambassador summed up. 

Armenia had previously announced at the highest level that it was  freezing its work in the CSTO and after that it ceased participating  in the work of this military alliance at all levels.