"The Russian military base in Armenia was formed under the conditions of external threat to Armenia and to a certain degree that base station was a force, containing that threat," Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan stated in an interview to Jane's Center, which is holding military and political research. In his words, unfortunately, until now the threat has not disappeared, as no notable improvement is made in relations with Turkey. "Turkey continues blockade against Armenia, which is a hostile action. Turkey also defends Azerbaijan in the NK process and improvement of our relations was due to a whim of Azerbaijan," Sargsyan remarked. He also expressed an opinion that Turkey's policy has undermined the NATO authority in Armenia for a long time, reports RFE/RL.