Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian foreign ministry, responded to Armenian parliament ruling majority "Civil Contract" Faction secretary Artur Hovhannisyan’s statement that he does not understand why Russia is demanding an explanation from Armenia regarding the information about Armenia’s participation in the US-led military exercises in Europe.
"It should be noted that he is obviously relying on the wording he invented and is surprised by it, or they mistranslated it to him," the Telegram channel of the Russian foreign ministry reads in this regard.
We present below the respective question and Zakharova's answer to it at Wednesday’s press briefing.
Question: Armenia refused to conduct CSTO military exercises in its territory. At the same time, it has decided to participate in military exercises of NATO countries. How does the Russian foreign ministry assess such a position of Yerevan? Can this move by Yerevan be considered [an] unfriendly [move] that could worsen the bilateral ties between our countries?
Answer: I will not repeat, and draw your attention to the fact that I just commented on the topic of Armenia and CSTO. As for NATO, the alliance continues the practice of actively engaging partner countries in [military] maneuvers. It does this through the implementation of NATO standards, and tries to transform the defense complex of these countries, to gain leverage over their internal and external political processes, the course of development of the armed forces.
First of all, it refers to the post-Soviet territory, which is a real field of geopolitical confrontation with Russia for NATO. The US and its allies are trying to discredit the collaboration of the countries of the region with our country. They drag them into various formats of interaction that are anti-Russian and sometimes Russophobic in nature. Such actions of NATO lead to the destabilization of the situation, the increase of conflict potential, and the creation of new dividing lines in various regions.
We have requested an official explanation from the Armenian partners regarding their participation in the NATO military exercises. Our reaction [to it] will be clear after receiving the response. Undoubtedly, Yerevan's refusal to hold CSTO [military] maneuvers in its territory is regrettable and does not contribute to the enhancement of regional security. They probably mistranslated it to Artur Hovhannisyan.