YEREVAN. – The Armenians of both Crimea and Ukraine must respect the choice of these people. 

Armenia’s opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party National Assembly (NA) Faction head Armen Rustamyan stated the aforesaid at Friday’s NA briefings.

According to him, since the Armenians always follow the above-said principle, diametrically opposite countries have a normal view toward the Armenian community.

Rustamyan noted that an attention should be paid to not solely to those countries that voted against, but those that abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution on Crimea. 

“There weren’t [a] small [number]; 58. And abstention is the same as voting against. Had the resolution been definitely fair, the vast majority [of the countries] would have supported it, whereas the opposite occurred,” the ARF MP said.
In his view, the countries’ stance can also change over time.

He added that the legitimacy of the March 16 referendum in Crimea is beyond doubt.

“At least 75 percent of the peninsula’s population is Russians. Does anyone doubt what choice they were to make?” Armen Rustamyan stressed. 

Armenia was among the eleven countries that on Thursday voted against the UN General Assembly resolution which declares invalid Crimea’s recent referendum calling for joining Russia. In addition, 58 countries abstained from voting on this resolution, whereas 100 countries voted in its favor. The UN General Assembly resolutions, however, are merely consultative.