He made the remarks after a meeting of foreign ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose organization comprising about a dozen former Soviet nations, that was held in Minsk, Belarus, on Friday.
At a press conference following the gathering Lavrov claimed that a common understanding among CIS participants that “the United States and its satellites are trying to invade all regions of the common territory of the Commonwealth.”
“They are trying to undermine the agreement on the stabilization of the situation in the Caucasus, in particular in the South Caucasus. They do not want to allow the implementation of the agreements that were reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the mediation of Russia. They are also actively trying to penetrate Central Asia. They create various formats that are openly aimed against the Russian Federation,” the Russian foreign minister contended.
At the same time, Lavrov claimed that Russia’s partners remain committed to the principles of cooperation within the framework of the CIS. “Under enormous pressure [from the West] our allies, our strategic partners, remain committed to all the basic principles on which cooperation within the CIS, within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), within the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is based,” Lavrov said, as quoted by Russian news agency TASS.
Lavrov reportedly expressed his confidence that strategically the policies of West are “doomed to failure.”
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan did not attend the CIS meeting in Minsk. Armenia at the meeting was represented by his deputy Mnatsakan Safarian.
Mirzoyan’s decision not to attend the event was announced days after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels on April 5.
At the meeting the EU unveiled an aid package for Armenia in the amount of 270 million euros (about $290 million) to be made available over the next four years, with the United States pledging $65 million in additional “development assistance” to Armenia this year.
The Western leaders said the assistance would boost Armenia’s resilience and help diversify its economy, which still remains heavily dependent on Russia.
The meeting in Brussels drew an angry reaction from Moscow that has accused Western powers of seeking to oust Russia from the South Caucasus.
Since late 2022 Armenia has also skipped gatherings of the CSTO. Citing the lack of support from the organization after a series of Azerbaijani border incursions in 2021-2022, Armenia effectively suspended its participation in this Russia-led defense bloc that also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Prime Minister Pashinian has not ruled out that Armenia may decide to quit the CSTO unless the latter clarifies its position on Armenia’s internationally recognized borders.