“Armenia is Russia’s strategic ally,” emphasized Russia’s first deputy prime minister Sergey Lavrov during a joint press conference with Armenian Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan on Friday, in response to the question as to whether Armenia is Russia’s strategic ally or outpost.
“I think that there is a misunderstanding here. It is really a result of speculations. Somebody wanted to say something nice, but at that moment that is what came out of his mouth. That is to blame,” mentioned Serge Sargsyan.
Ivanov said that the co-operation between Russia and Armenia is not only limited to the strategic/political field, but it also includes the cultural, economic and other fields.
“The Russian military base is allocated in Armenia and it secures the interests of both Armenia and Russia. The operation plan of the base is not aggressive to either of the two countries, rather it secures the total safety of our countries because both Armenia and Russia are members of the Collective Security and Defense Organization,” said Ivanov.
With regard to his statement during his interview on being against the allocation of NATO military bases in the South Caucasus, Serge Sargsyan said that the creation of additional dividing lines will not complement Armenia’s security structure.
“We know that Russia is reducing its presence in our region. It shouldn’t be that parallel to that, others expand their presence.”