Russia remains committed to its obligations in ensuring Armenia’s security, Russia’s Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.
Kopyrkin also expressed Russia’s desire for Armenia to continue its engagement in the development of what he called “single and indivisible” security system in the Eurasian region.
Russia is relying on “the active engagement of Armenian partners in joint efforts to develop an equal and indivisible security system on the Eurasian continent, the idea of which was put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 of this year at a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry leadership and was raised again during the BRICS summit recently in Kazan,” Kopyrkin said, referring to a gathering held in the Russian city, attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“Speaking about the tasks of ensuring Armenia’s security, we are committed to the position that there are no real alternatives comparable to the Russian-Armenian allied cooperation, including within the framework of the CSTO. Russia remains committed to its obligations to ensure Armenia’s security—both in a bilateral format and through the CSTO,” added the Russian ambassador to Armenia.
These statements come as Armenia, once again, declined to participate in a gathering of foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states. Yerevan has frozen its participation in the Russia-led group.
In the Izvestia interview, Kopyrkin also said that Russia is interested in “stable peace” between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“It is important that this document [i.e. the peace treaty expected to be signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan], which is crucial for the region, is based on a fair solution of all mutual concerns, without ‘bitterness’ for any of the parties. We [i.e. Russia] clearly see that reaching mutually acceptable compromises between Yerevan and Baku is a difficult and time-consuming process, taking into account the events that preceded after the collapse of the USSR,” the Russian Ambassador said.
“Russia is always ready to provide support to our Armenian and Azerbaijani partners in the normalization of bilateral relations, following the spirit and letter of the trilateral agreements of 2020-2022 between the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan,” he added.
Kopyrkin also sounded an optimistic chord about the growth of trade between Russia and Armenia, saying Moscow is anticipating an annual $14 billion to $16 billon trade volume.
“If we talk about specific numbers, then already in the first half of 2024, the trade between Russia and Armenia has exceeded $8.3 billion, against the $7.4 billion last year. We expect to maintain the pace and reach a record level of $14 to $16 billion,” said Kopyrkin.
The Russian Ambassador emphasized that work is currently underway to launch joint economic projects in Armenia, explaining that proposed tangible investment in Armenia will create new jobs and increase tax revenues to the state budget.
