Armenia risks sacrificing its national sovereignty by throwing its lot in with the NATO military alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says.
“I hope Yerevan [Armenia’s capital] knows that its deepening cooperation with the [NATO] alliance could result in its losing its sovereignty in terms of defense and security,” Mr. Lavrov told Russia’s TASS news agency on Dec. 28.
While a nominal ally of Russia, Armenia holds military drills with NATO and is reforming its military to bring it in line with the Western organization’s standards, Mr. Lavrov said.
Armenia is a longstanding member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led security bloc established after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Along with Russia and Armenia, the CSTO comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Since Russia began its invasion of eastern Ukraine early last year, Yerevan has gradually distanced itself from the organization.
In September, it recalled its permanent representative to the security bloc and declined to take part in scheduled CSTO military drills in Belarus.
Soon afterward, Armenia hosted elements of the U.S. Army for joint military exercises near Yerevan.
At the time, the head of the Russian State Duma’s foreign affairs committee accused the United States of attempting to gain an “anti-Russia foothold” in the South Caucasus region.
Yerevan irked Moscow again last month when it declined to take part in a CSTO summit in Minsk that was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This cannot but cause us concern,” Mr. Lavrov said in his comments to TASS.
Foreign Policy Reboot
In previous statements, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stressed that his country has no plans to withdraw from the CSTO.
In televised comments last month, Mr. Pashinyan said that any decision to leave the Moscow-led security bloc would be taken “in line with Armenia’s interests.”
But he went on to assert that Armenia’s membership in the CSTO was hindering efforts to procure arms and support from “other sources”—presumably a reference to Western countries.
In late October, NATO member France announced the sale of advanced radar systems and anti-aircraft missiles to Armenia.
At the time, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said France would help modernize Armenia’s armed forces and provide training for Armenian military personnel.
“We stand by our defense relationship [with Armenia], even though we’re not part of the same military and political alliances,” Mr. Lecornu said at a joint news briefing with his Armenian counterpart.
Mr. Pashinyan has also complained that his country’s membership in the CSTO had failed to prevent a recent military offensive by Azerbaijan in the flashpoint Nagorno-Karabakh region.
In September, Azerbaijan—Armenia’s longstanding foe—carried out a 24-hour offensive to exert control over the region and disarm ethnic Armenian separatists.
Although most of Nagorno-Karabakh’s inhabitants are ethnic Armenians, the region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Moscow, which keeps a peacekeeping force in the region, has responded to Mr. Pashinyan’s criticisms by noting that Azerbaijan’s claim to Nagorno-Karabakh has been internationally recognized—even by Armenia.
“Unfortunately, Yerevan is attempting to reformat its foreign policy course,” Mr. Lavrov said in his recent remarks to TASS.
“It’s trading in its time-tested alliance with Moscow for vague promises from the West.”
“To justify its strategic turnaround, Armenia is trying to blame Russia for all its problems—including its recent loss of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Mr. Lavrov added.
Russian Base Revisited
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Pashinyan said Azerbaijan’s September offensive had brought Armenia to a decision that it needs to diversify its “relationships in the security sphere.”In the same interview, he appeared to suggest that Armenia gained no advantage from allowing a Russian military presence on its territory.
Along with its peacekeeping force, Russia maintains a large military base in Armenia’s northwestern city of Gyumri.
Said to be home to some 3,000 troops, the base has functioned within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) since 1995.
Established in 1991, the CIS is a Moscow-led regional bloc comprising nine former Soviet republics, including Armenia.
Speaking to TASS, Mr. Lavrov said that Moscow would view “any speculation regarding the usefulness of the 102nd Russian military base ... as harmful.”
“[The installation] is founded on the national interests and common task of our countries to ensure stability in the South Caucasus,” he added.
