Europe’s security destruction, Armenia in CSTO, 'miracles': Lavrov's statements

KAZAN, June 10. /TASS/. The European security system has been obliterated at the hands of the collective West, this is why preventing "the common Eurasian home" from becoming an arena of geopolitical confrontation is important, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

He also said that the CSTO had agreed to consider applying the relevant article of the association's charter to Armenia over the republic's failure to pay fees for two years.

According to him, it would take a miracle for the EU to change its position on Ukraine, and miracles do not happen.

TASS has compiled the key statements of the foreign minister.

The European security system has been "completely destroyed" at the hands of the collective West.

It is important to prevent the "common Eurasian home" from becoming an arena of geopolitical confrontation: "All the most important arms control treaties have been eliminated, so it is important for us to prevent what was previously called the common Eurasian home from becoming an arena of geopolitical confrontation."

NATO claims to ensure Eurasian security "according to its own rules, according to its own understanding and under its own authority."

The CSTO is open to dialogue with NATO: "At a time when there were no crises in relations between Russia and the West, when the Russia-NATO Council was functioning and engaged in helicopter supply programs to Afghanistan to combat terrorism, there was a whole program of Russia-NATO cooperation, and even in those days NATO never agreed to sit at the same table with the CSTO to talk about security issues."

Armenia remains formally a full member of the CSTO: "Armenia has indeed again skipped the CSTO events, although it remains formally a full member of the organization."

Armenia needs to quickly choose between the European Union and the EAEU, the issue is already pressing: "Armenia has already adopted a law on joining the European Union, so the issue is already urgent."

Armenia is systematically increasing its cooperation with NATO: "Not participating in the CSTO, but remaining a formal member for more than two years, I think, the Armenian colleagues do not come to events. At the same time, they are actively increasing cooperation with the NATO member countries, military exercises are underway, military goods are being purchased, and military delegations are being exchanged with both NATO and the European Union, which is also now turning into a militarized structure."

The CSTO countries have