The Russian Foreign Ministry called Pashinyan’s attacks on Moscow unacceptable

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made unacceptable attacks against Russia, trying to shift responsibility for failures in domestic and foreign policy to Moscow. About it stated The Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the message of the Armenian Prime Minister on the occasion of the Republic’s Independence Day on September 24.

“Message <...> N.V. Pashinyan <...> contains unacceptable attacks against Russia and cannot but cause anything but rejection. There is an attempt to relieve oneself of responsibility for failures in domestic and foreign policy, shifting the blame to Moscow,” the Foreign Ministry believes.

Pishinyan’s words, the Foreign Ministry added, confirm Russia’s earlier conclusions that the processes destructive for Armenia and its relations with Moscow, which are inspired by the West and spurred on by Yerevan, “are not episodic, but systemic in nature.”

“The head of government, in fact, admitted that all this time the republic was deliberately preparing for a turn away from Russia,” the Foreign Ministry noted.

Russia, the statement emphasizes, has always remained faithful to its allied obligations and did not put Yerevan before the choice “with us or against us.” In particular, thanks to the efforts of the Russian Federation and President Vladimir Putin, it was possible to avoid the complete defeat of Armenia in 2020. At the same time, Yerevan’s loss would then have been less severe if “Pashinyan had agreed to a truce weeks earlier,” the Foreign Ministry claims.

In 2020, within the framework of tripartite agreements, it was agreed to “leave the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh to future generations,” the report says, but Pashinyan “succumbed to the exhortations” of the EU and recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result, the conditions under which the trilateral statement was signed, as well as the position of the Russian peacekeepers, were fundamentally changed. In addition, Armenia continued to deny the presence of its military in Karabakh, which also escalated the situation, the Foreign Ministry notes. Having recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, Yerevan “did not remember the rights and security of the Karabakh Armenians.”

“We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a huge mistake, deliberately trying to destroy the multifaceted and centuries-old ties between Armenia and Russia and making the country a hostage to the geopolitical games of the West,” the Foreign Ministry summarized.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Pashinyan’s words that he had questions for Russian peacekeepers, stated about disagreement with the attempt to blame the Russian side for the events in Nagorno-Karabakh. Peskov stressed that Moscow will continue dialogue with Yerevan at various levels. He noted that Armenia remains an ally and a state close to Russia. “More Armenians live in our country than in Armenia itself, much more. We will continue to fulfill our functions, we will continue the dialogue with the Armenian side,” Peskov added.

On September 19, Azerbaijan announced the start of “anti-terrorist measures” necessary for the “restoration of the constitutional order” in Nagorno-Karabakh. The next day, Karabakh authorities announced the conclusion of agreements on a complete ceasefire. On September 21, negotiations were held in Yevlakh between the delegation of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities.

During the “anti-terrorist operation” in Baku, six Russian peacekeepers were killed, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan reported. Five died when the car was fired upon by the Azerbaijani military, one died when the Kamaz was fired upon by “unidentified members of illegal Armenian armed groups.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh expressed gratitude to Russian peacekeepers for the assistance provided. Peacekeepers escorted car convoys with residents of Karabakh who are moving to Armenia after the capitulation of the authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.