YEREVAN. – The bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial will show who in the Russian State Duma can be considered a true friend of Armenia

Deputy director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, Eastern Studies specialist Suren Manukyan, noted the abovementioned at a press conference on Monday.

Manukyan stressed, however, that the fate of this bill is not predetermined. As per the expert, even though it is put on the agenda of the plenary session of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia, the respective voting can take place at a time when the current strain in Russian-Turkish relations—and linked to Turkey’s recent downing of a Russian warplane—has reduced. 

As per Suren Manukyan, the ruling party in Russia has not yet expressed a position on this matter, and therefore the fate of this bill is unclear. 

“The fate of the bill will allow us to understand (…) for whom the [respective] political conjuncture is more important,” he added. “We will be able to see whether it is solely in the US Congress, or also in the State Duma of Russia.”

The said bill, which was introduced last week to the State Duma of Russia, calls for holding Turkey accountable for denial of the Armenian Genocide.