16:32,

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan continues its policy of aggression against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a lecture at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael in response to a question from the audience.

“Unfortunately Azerbaijan continues its very aggressive policy against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. You know that there is a Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh. And the main objective of the Azerbaijani diplomacy in the recent months was the following: They go the EU and the US and say ‘look, Armenia is a pro-Russian country’, in some cases they say ‘with a proxy Russian government’, and then they go to Russia and tell them look ‘Armenia is a pro-Western country, look how they are building ties with the West’. Sometimes they say that the government in Armenia was brought to power by the West through a color revolution, which is acting against Russia’”, Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said that by doing so Azerbaijan seeks to develop an understanding of its aggressive policy against Armenia in both the West and in Russia. He said that they can’t say that there are no arguments to substantiate this position. “The objective reality is that there are arguments to substantiate this position because Armenia is a strategic ally of Russia, it is a CSTO member and an EEU member, and has very warm and close relations with Russia. On the other hand, the relations of Armenia with the EU and EU member states are gradually deepening because the EU is Armenia’s main partner in the democratic reforms area,” Pashinyan said.

Speaking about the observation in the question that Armenia is trying to carry out a multilateral policy, the PM said that he can add that multilateral policy is in turn being attempted against Armenia itself. “And not only must we carry out multilateral policy but we must also be able to manage the risks that are emerging as a result of carrying out this policy,” Pashinyan said.

The PM stressed that Armenia is engaged in balanced policy and that the Armenian government is guided by national interests of Armenia. He emphasized that the Armenian government is attaching importance to all relations but that it is highly important for these relations not to be at the expense of one another. “The world order is changing before our eyes and no one knows how it will be as a result. I want to say that times like these are the most dangerous times for countries like Armenia, this must be recorded and understood. Carrying out balanced policy isn’t easy for us at all, but we are trying to do everything to succeed,” Pashinyan said.