Official Moscow and the leadership of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization have cautioned Yerevan about the ramifications of a strategic partnership agreement signed Tuesday between the United States and Armenia.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that while signing such an agreement with the U.S. is Armenia’s sovereign decision, it should not impact or threaten Yerevan’s relations with other countries.
“We have used the term ‘strategic partnership’ in a number of agreements with Western countries. But those agreements, declaring ‘strategic partnership,’ never required from this or that participant to act against a third country,” Lavrov emphasized.
He added that the “main issue is not who signed what and what the document is called, but what follows from it.”
Lavrov’s sentiments were echoed by the CSTO Secretary-General Imangali Tasmagambetov, who told the news.ru news agency that Armenia has a sovereign right to develop bilateral relations with countries of its choosing.
“However,” he said, “it is important for both sides here to proceed from the principle of equal and indivisible security, that is, this partnership should not create security threats to other states and international associations.”
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the development of the strategic partnership between Armenia and the U.S. is the sovereign right of Yerevan, Russia, for its part, intends to build ties with Armenia.
“This is absolutely the sovereign right of our Armenian friends. It is Armenia’s sovereign right to develop relations with other countries. We still proceed from the main principle: we have our own bilateral relations with Armenia, we value these relations, we intend to develop them further,” Peskov said.
He also noted that in addition to bilateral aspects, interaction within the framework of integration processes, including the Eurasian Economic Union, is very important for Moscow. “This collective is a cooperation that yields significant dividends for Armenia and its people. This is what we are proceeding from,” Peskov added.
Lavrov on Tuesday went on to accuse the U.S. and the European Union of interfering in the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He also emphasized that Yerevan’s decision, last week, to back efforts for Armenia’s membership in the EU were incongruent to the mandate of the Eurasian Economic Union.
