Speaker of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan refused to participate in the fifth session of the Russian-Armenian Lazarev Club.

In a letter addressed to State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin, he explained this by the fact that he would participate in the next meeting of the IPA CIS Council in Samarkand.

The Armenian authorities earlier declared Zatulin persona non grata.

"Unfortunately, your recent public statements against the Republic of Armenia are detrimental to the development of friendly and allied relations between our countries.  In this regard, your visit to the Republic of Armenia is considered undesirable in the future.

In addition, according to a "leak" previously published by Haykakan Zhamanak, the newspaper of the Prime Minister's family in Armenia, Zatulin's criticism of the leadership, especially of Nikol Pashinyan, had enraged those in power.

In an interview with NEWS.am, Zatulin called the sudden entry ban offensive. He assured that the decision of the Armenian authorities will not affect his pro-Armenian activities, calling the actions of the Armenian authorities in regard to the Armenians of Karabakh a betrayal.