Armenia is the main military ally of Russia in the south. Russian defense minister Sergey Ivanov stated at the meeting with students of Saint Petersburg University yesterday. In his words, as reported by "Interfax," CIS member states have been priority military partners of Russia and remain such. Russia's main ally in the west is Belarus, in the east are the countries of Central Asia included in the Treaty on Collective Security. Sergey Ivanov emphasized that "it is fundamentally important to Russia to maintain stability and minimize general security threats not only in its own, but also in the neighboring territories."