OREANDA-NEWS Every effort must be made to preserve peace in Transcaucasia. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"The Russian side will be glad to those who want to come here in peace, to help, to assist. But whoever has a knife in his bosom, go away. We have devoted so much effort together, jointly, in order to defend peace in the region," the diplomat said.

Zakharova added that Transcaucasia is a long-suffering region that has gone through many conflicts. The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry urged not to allow Western countries to use their policy of "controlled chaos" to create new conflicts.

Earlier, Alexander Bortnikov, chairman of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the CIS countries, said that the West is forcing Armenia to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in order to increase dependence on NATO.