MediaMax, Armenia
Feb 28 2019
Karasin issues a warning to Georgia, mentions Armenia
Yerevan /Mediamax/. Russia is concerned about "the large-scale NATO military exercises in Georgia and the fact that Georgia is engaging other countries of the region in these exercises, for instance, Armenia”.
The remark was made by Deputy Foreign Minister, State Secretary of Russia Grigory Karasin, who gave an interview to Kommersant after the meeting with Georgian Prime Minister’s Special Representative Zurab Abashidze in Prague.
Before the meeting Grigory Karasin said he planned to “warn the Georgian side about possible surprises, which will be unpleasant for both countries”.
After meeting Abashidze Karasin made the following remarks:
“The NATO agenda is showing more and more actively in Georgia’s foreign policy. They hold large-scale NATO military exercises fairly often, and Georgia is engaging other countries of the region in them, for instance, Armenia. Georgian politicians speak of expedited NATO membership strategy, the so-called “Russian threat against the entire democratic Europe”, and so on. Naturally, it offends us. It does not facilitate strengthening of the atmosphere of mutual attraction between Russia and Georgia.
Tbilisi has to decide: either they choose the atmosphere of regional welfare or the Euro-Atlantic agenda. Doing both simultaneously is difficult and fraught with most serious consequences. Obviously, if NATO military activity develops in the South Caucasus, problems will follow sooner or later. We all remember what started the Ukrainian problems. This time the statement of the question is absolutely the same”.
In December 2018 he noted:
“Kremlin counts on the new government of Armenia to find the courage to resist the blackmail and pressure from the American side.”