The Hraparak daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes as follows, in particular: On September 7, it was the congress and the 25th anniversary event of the Union of Armenians of Russia in Moscow, which took place in the hall of the Kremlin's Palace of Congresses.

First, the deputy chief of staff of the RF [i.e. Russian Federation] president read [President Vladimir] Putin's congratulatory message, after which a grand concert took place with the participation of Russian pop and Armenian children's ensembles. All this would have been an ordinary event if, in parallel with that, representatives of the Azerbaijani community throughout Russia were not subjected to criminal prosecution or deprived of RF citizenship. The Russian authorities are sending an open message that they have serious problems with [Azerbaijani president Ilham] Aliyev and are not going to play by the rules of the game dictated by him.

But since Armenia’s authorities are not the apple of their eye either, they are courting the Armenians living in Russia as a counterbalance. Previously, in such situations, direct support was directed to Armenia’s authorities, which was perceived by official Baku as a negative message and warning, and they quickly began to restore the broken balance [so] that Armenians would not benefit, and the RF would not take steps in favor of the RA.

Now, veiled messages are being sent to Azerbaijan, and the situation has become even more aggravated. (…).. Two leaders of the Azerbaijani community [in Russia] have been deprived of [Russian] citizenship, criminal cases have been initiated against numerous ethnic Azerbaijanis [in Russia], and there are detainees.

As a continuation of this, Russia has begun to underscore in a stressed manner the role of the Union of Armenians of Russia, and the president of the union, Ara Abrahamyan, is receiving special treatment.