The Hraparak daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes as follows, in particular: [Russian FM] Sergey Lavrov, during his visit to Armenia, being hosted the [Russian-Armenian] Slavonic University [in Yerevan], conducted a quite open conversation about Armenian-Russian relations. One of the attendees said that in response to all the questions, Lavrov repeated the idea that Armenia’s impression that the Russians handed over Karabakh [to Azerbaijan] was wrong.

He said that it was also “unexpected” for them [i.e. Russia] when [Armenian PM Nikol] Pashinyan announced in Prague in 2022 that he sees the solution to the Karabakh issue in the Alma-Ata Declaration, according to which the NKR [(Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)] has been part of Azerbaijan since 1991. He said that the [trilateral] statement of November 9, 2020 was personally edited by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and he deliberately left out the issue of NK's [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] affiliation—a gentleman's agreement was reached that the NKR status would be the subject of further discussion between the parties.

Lavrov also dismissed the RA authorities' statements that the CSTO did not act during the 2022 Jermuk [city] events, said that the CSTO made a specific proposal to send a monitoring mission, but the RA authorities refused, and a few months later EU monitors were invited to Armenia. The Russian official did not hide that a gap has emerged in Armenian-Russian relations in recent years, and insinuated that [Armenian FM Ararat] Mirzoyan's failure to meet him was not a surprise to him. He said that they are ready to refresh relations if our [Armenian] authorities wish.

Our source claims [that], in reality, Lavrov visited Armenia not so much for official meetings as to feel the public mood [in the country], since it is noticeable from Pashinyan's steps that he will soon make new concessions [to Azerbaijan], which may relate also to the interests of the RF [(Russian Federation)], the weakening of the RF factor in the Caucasus. The impression with which the RF foreign minister left [Armenia] will become clear from the interventions in Armenia’s life.