MINSK, May 25. /TASS/. The West is trying in every possible way to interfere in the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, increase its presence and discredit Russia's peacekeeping policy, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.

"As for the situation in the Caucasus region, it is largely determined by the degree of settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The Russian peacekeeping contingent is currently providing security in Nagorno-Karabakh. But the West is trying to interfere in the situation, increase its presence and discredit Russia's peacekeeping policy," Shoigu said at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council of Defense Ministers in Minsk.

According to him, the main thing for the West is to "squeeze Russia out of the South Caucasus, not to ensure the long-term security and prosperity of the region."

"An example of this is the so-called EU civilian mission in Armenia, which includes servicemen and employees of special services. I think there is no need to explain what they actually do," Shoigu said.

"In this connection, we consider it necessary to continue work on sending a CSTO mission to the region," the top brass pointed out.