MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. Germany is interested in the rapid withdrawal of Russian border guards from Armenia, offering Yerevan financial aid for a number of anti-Russian steps, an informed source told TASS.

"Germany is trying to drag Armenia into the West's anti-Russian policy. Berlin's task is to distance Yerevan as much as possible from Moscow. The Germans are interested in the rapid withdrawal of Russian border guards from Armenian territory and the purging of the state apparatus by the country's authorities of pro-Russian supporters, including the lustration of the armed forces, special services and law enforcement agencies. In return, Berlin offers to provide financial and technical assistance to Yerevan, as well as to support the efforts of Nikol Pashinyan's government to prevent Karabakh Armenians from mass emigration to the European Union," the source said.

Earlier, in an exclusive interview with TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Yerevan, succumbing to the West's entreaties, is trying to ruin the alliance with Moscow for vague promises. According to the top Russian diplomat, Yerevan is trying to blame Russia for all its misfortunes, including the loss of Karabakh, in order to justify a course of strategic reversal. However, as Lavrov pointed out, Armenia was and remains Russia's strategic partner in the South Caucasus.