NATO, EU actions increasing tensions in Caucasus - Russian defense minister

NATO and the European Union's confrontational stance towards Russia is exacerbating tensions in Georgia and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stated on Friday, according to TASS.

“Certain countries of the Alliance seek to strengthen their positions in the Caucasus, thus gaining access to the Caspian Sea resources and direct access to Central Asia. The situation is being destabilized and protests in Georgia, from which active anti-Russian actions are being sought, are being financed,” Belousov said during a meeting of the CSTO Defense Ministers Council in Almaty.

He further noted that “mediation services are being unceremoniously imposed on Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle contradictions.” Belousov criticized proposals for signing a peace treaty “exclusively on Western platforms and under dictation.”

Expressing particular concern, he added, “Washington and Brussels' plans to involve our Armenian partners in the sphere of their interests under the pretext of strengthening security and defense are of particular concern.”

Belousov stressed that NATO and the EU's course of confrontation with Russia is causing increased tension in several CSTO collective security regions.