We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Armenia and the activities of its law enforcement agencies. We continue to consider Armenia a fraternal country, with whose people we are connected by special relations that have been formed over the centuries. So, we cannot remain indifferent to the political processes taking place there, especially when they are carried out in one way or another under the slogans of bilateral relations, related to our country. The spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Maria Zakharova, stated this during a press briefing Thursday.

“Sadly, the negative trend that Russian President Vladimir Putin drew attention to during his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow on April 1 continues. This particularly concerns the intensification of real repressions against those political forces and figures who advocate for the preservation and strengthening of allied relations with Russia. This clearly contradicts the demand of the Armenian society for the consistent development of bilateral relations [with Russia], which was clearly manifested in the [Armenian] parliamentary elections held in June. This gives grounds to assume that the aforementioned actions by the Armenian power structures are of a politicized nature. Such a destructive line of Armenia’s authorities sharply contradicts the public assurances of official Yerevan that, as they assure there, they are not taking actions to worsen relations with Russia.

We [i.e. Russia] expect that political parties and alliances, community-level leaders, public figures and activists in Armenia, who are making efforts to strengthen traditional bilateral cooperation [with Russia], will be able to calmly participate in the country's domestic political life, to make their contribution to its development and prosperity.

It is indicative that the intensification of pressure on politicians and public figures who are constructively disposed towards our country are silently bypassed by those political forces that, as they claim, are bringing democracy to Armenia.

This is yet another unnecessary confirmation that the new so-called  ‘friends’ of the Armenian authorities continue to turn a blind eye to everything that somehow contributes to the implementation of the EU's goals towards Armenia, namely to cynically use the [Armenian] republic, its potential, and its citizens in their confrontation with Russia," the Russian MFA spokesperson added.