On June 11, Maria Zakharova, Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressed Russia’s concerns regarding NATO’s activities in the Caucasus and their impact on regional stability.
Zakharova emphasized that while Moscow understands Azerbaijan’s close ties with Turkey, it expects Baku to recognize Russia’s sensitivity to NATO’s growing presence near its borders. She stated, “In the new global realities, we cannot stand by as NATO approaches our borders from any direction,” expressing hope that Azerbaijan would prevent third parties from disrupting bilateral relations with Russia.
She further asserted that the West’s primary objective is to destabilize the region by fomenting hostility and creating new tensions. Zakharova underscored the importance of both Baku and Yerevan acknowledging Russia’s legitimate concerns and carefully evaluating the risks associated with deepening ties with aggressive military alliances, warning that such moves could lead to serious consequences.
During a briefing, Zakharova addressed various issues related to regional security and historical memory. She stated that Russia acknowledges Baku’s justified concerns about the activities of the EU mission in Armenia, emphasizing that the mission’s staff engage in spying on Armenia’s neighbors rather than reporting to Yerevan or contributing to regional stability. Regarding the Russian military base in Armenia, she confirmed that no signals have been received from Yerevan about its withdrawal. Zakharova stressed that Armenian officials publicly affirm the importance of the Russian military presence as a key element of the regional security architecture and that its deployment is governed by bilateral agreements between Armenia and Russia. She added that this issue has never been discussed in the context of Russia’s interactions with Azerbaijan.