News - Mikhail Galuzin: Armenia avoids contacts with Russia at MFA, MoD level

Armenia has ceased showing its interest in maintaining contacts with Russia at the level of the Foreign and Defense Ministries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS on Wednesday. "There have been no [bilateral] meetings of the foreign ministers since November 2023," Galuzin said. "Our partners did not show any interest in our proposal to work out and conclude a plan of another stage of inter-departmental consultations," he continued. "It is not our fault that there has been a noticeable decline in the dynamics of bilateral contacts in the sphere of defense. The military and technical cooperation is also on the decline." "We view such developments as being the result of the pressure exerted by the Western countries [on Armenia] that are seeking to force Yerevan into minimizing all ties with our country," the Russian senior diplomat added. "Nevertheless, we hope that the publicly voiced intention of the Armenian authorities to work towards the elimination of problematic issues and irritants will be practically implemented. We are ready for it," emphasized Galuzin. At the same time, the Russian deputy FM noted that bilateral contacts between Moscow and Yerevan are not interrupted. "Our most important results are in the commercial and economic sphere," continued Galuzin. "The bilateral intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation is working effectively. Its co-chairs, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexei Overchuk and Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan, communicate regularly, including within the framework of the EAEU [i.e. the Eurasian Economic Union] meetings. We collaborate also with Armenian partners on the cultural and humanitarian track."