Russia is not going to leave the South Caucasus – Moscow replied to Pashinyan

Baku/04.09.23/Turan: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statements about Russia in an interview with Italian media are unacceptable in tone, Moscow is extremely dissatisfied with them, a diplomatic source reported to TASS.

Pashinyan said that Russia is moving away from the South Caucasus, and called Armenia's strategic mistake that it linked its security with Russia.

"Moscow is extremely dissatisfied with the recent public statements of the Armenian leadership, including the statements of the Prime Minister of Armenia in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the comment of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on August 31, regard them as unacceptable in tone and content, with an eye to shifting responsibility to Russia for its own miscalculations and mistakes," the agency interlocutor said.

In particular, the Armenian Prime Minister stated about the possibility of the Russian Federation moving away from the region. "In fact, they are trying to artificially oust Russia from the South Caucasus, and using Yerevan as a means of realizing this goal. Russia, as Armenia's closest neighbor and friend, does not intend to leave the region. However, it should be a two-way street: Armenia should also not become a tool of the West to squeeze out Russia," the source said.

He added that Russia views relations with Armenia in the fields of security and economy "not as the dependence of one country on another, but as an equal, mutually beneficial and proven partnership." ---02B---