Russian Foreign Ministry accuses West of intending to turn South Caucasus into a second anti-Russian front

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YEREVAN, 31 July. /ARKA/. A Russian diplomat again accused the US and the EU of seeking ‘to turn the South Caucasus into a second anti-Russian front.’/pp

Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department Andrei Nastasin claimed that the US and the EU are destroying the established ties in the South Caucasus./pp ‘The Westerners want to destabilise the region, turn it into another hotbed of tension or even a second front near the Russian borders. For this purpose they are trying to infiltrate into all spheres of our multifaceted relations with regional partners. Moreover, special attention is paid to the topic of security,’ Nastasin said, commenting on Azerbaijan's threats to Armenia against the background of Yerevan’s increasing defence cooperation with the West./pp

He noted that Russia favours resolving all quarrels between Armenia and Azerbaijan exclusively through political and diplomatic means./pp ‘To avoid escalation, we urge Baku and Yerevan to be cautious, avoid belligerent rhetoric, and concentrate their efforts on finding mutually acceptable solutions that would contribute to the speedy achievement of sustainable peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus region,’ he said./pp ‘Russia consistently favours the establishment of a lasting sustainable peace between Baku and Yerevan. That is what the set of trilateral agreements reached at the highest level is aimed at. They envisage a step-by-step solution to complex problems, including those of a social and humanitarian nature. It is not only about refugees, but also about preventing the continuation of the ‘war of monuments’,’ he said. -0-/pp nbsp;/pp/pp nbsp;/p