MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Russia expects Armenia to realize the risk of losing its sovereignty in terms of national defense and security through deepening dialogue with the North Atlantic Alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told TASS in an exclusive interview.

"I hope, Yerevan is aware that any deepening of cooperation with the alliance may result in its losing sovereignty in the sphere of national defense and security," Russia’s top diplomat said.

Lavrov emphasized that, this year, Armenia has held dozens of joint exercises with the alliance. According to him, the republic continues to upgrade its armed forces to bring them to NATO standards, while the Armenian military is undergoing training in a number of NATO member countries.

"This cannot but cause our concern. We have repeatedly drawn the attention of our Armenian colleagues to the fact that NATO’s true goal is to strengthen its positions in the region and create conditions for manipulation based on the 'divide and conquer' scheme," Lavrov concluded.