MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Moscow has asked Yerevan to clarify why Armenia is taking part in joint military exercises with NATO, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Wednesday.

"We have requested official explanations from our Armenian partners about their participation in NATO exercises. We will decide on our reaction when we receive the answer," she said.

"Certainly, Yerevan's refusal to host CSTO maneuvers causes regret and does not contribute to enhancing regional security," the diplomat stressed.

NATO continues the practice of actively engaging partner countries in its maneuvers and seeks to mold the defense complexes of these states and gain leverage over their domestic and foreign policy processes. Zakharova noted. "First of all, of course, this applies to the post-Soviet space, which is a real arena for NATO's geopolitical confrontation with Russia. The United States and its allies are trying to undermine the cooperation of states in the region with our country by involving them into various formats of interaction, which are clearly anti-Russian, if not to say Russophobic at times," the diplomat said.

"Such actions by NATO lead to the destabilization of the situation in various regions, the growth of conflict potential and the creation of new dividing lines," Zakharova summed up.