Collective West declared war on Russia aimed at Russia`s strategic defeat - RF FM to RA NA speaker 

ArmInfo. The plans agreed upon in 2020-2022 by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia remain relevant in the region to resolve all economic, transport, and logistical problems in the South Caucasus. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated this on February 5 in Moscow during a meeting with Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan.

According to him, Moscow believes that contacts between Armenia and  Russia at the highest political level, including parliamentary, have  developed steadily and very intensively over the past year. "We are  interested in this. Armenia is our ally, our strategic partner. We  see how difficult the situation in the South Caucasus is developing,  and I hope that the plans agreed upon in 2020-2022 by the leaders of  Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia-in our opinion, these plans remain  relevant in the region in order to resolve all economic, transport,  and logistical problems in the South Caucasus. Armenia should benefit  significantly from these decisions; all barriers to the normal  functioning of the entire region should be removed," the Russian  minister said.

He added that Moscow is prepared for this, and the Russian Deputy  Prime Minister is in contact with the leaders within the framework of  the decisions made based on the agreements reached within the  trilateral working group. "We hear statements from Armenia's  leadership about their interest in maintaining the current level of  ties and cooperation with Russia. On the other hand, we see that not  all countries outside the region are happy with this. Our colleagues  from the European Union are very, very active in pursuing opposing  policies. We never object to any of our partners developing external  relations in any area," Lavrov added.

As for their EU colleagues, the Russian diplomat continued, they  constantly force the country in question to choose between "being  with us or being with them." He said this is an inescapable logic  that has been applied in the post-Soviet space for 20 years. "I  sincerely hope that Armenia understands perfectly well what lies  behind this situation, when the European Union and European NATO  members have openly declared war on Russia to inflict a strategic  defeat on us. I would very much like for the narrative that sows  mistrust, if not hostility, not to dominate or prevail in the public  space of our countries. We find it a little strange to periodically  hear about some mythical attacks being prepared from the north  against Armenia, under an existential threat from the CSTO," he  added. Lavrov also included in this line "attempts to cast doubt" on  the shared history of the Soviet period, including the Great  Patriotic War, and the post-Soviet period. "We will always cherish  the memory of the contribution the Armenian people made to the  victory over Nazism, and the well-known exploits of the outstanding  military leaders of the Armenian SSR," the Russian Foreign Minister  said.

In conclusion, he noted that Moscow hopes that today's conversation  will allow us to understand how best to advance our contacts for  Russian-Armenian relations and for the Republic of Armenia. In this  regard, we certainly view this visit as of great significance.