The justification for Yerevan's refusal to agree to the next batch of humanitarian aid from Russia for those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh raises more questions than answers. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated this at a press briefing Thursday.

According to her, it is obvious that Yerevan's refusal to provide exclusively charitable and non-political humanitarian aid is due to the Armenian authorities' pre-election desire to erase all references to Russia.

She recalled that Russia has never left people displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh without support and assistance. As part of this assistance, 140 tons of humanitarian cargo—comprising food, basic necessities, and special children's kits—were transferred to 7,000 families relocated from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia:.

“Meeting basic needs was enabling people, as well as the Armenian authorities, to pay more attention to solving more serious problems: housing, employment, social reintegration. This, of course, is unconditionally the exclusive competence of local authorities, and this same humanitarian aid should, among others, have helped them focus on priority goals,” said the Russian MFA spokesperson.

Maria Zakharova cited Yerevan’s justification for refusing this humanitarian aid: “During the pre-election period, Armenia’s legal norms restrict the provision of donations, as well as charitable assistance.”

But according to Zakharova, under the Electoral Code of Armenia, such restrictions are imposed only on those organizations whose names may be somehow connected, for example, with the names of political parties running in the elections. “By the way, what does this have to do with the situation under discussion? After all, international or charitable organizations are prohibited only and exclusively from carrying out propaganda,. What do propaganda and humanitarian aid have to do with each other?” she said.

According to her, it is simply impossible to think that this is in any way connected with propaganda. It is obvious that Yerevan’s refusal to provide exclusively charitable and non-political humanitarian aid is conditioned by the Armenian authorities’ pre-election wish to “well, literally clean up, so to speak, the mentions of Russia.”

“Who are they harming? Their own citizens, who really need it and who have always received that aid. You know, this whole situation raises the following question for me: and how will this be explained to those people who have received that aid, those 140 tons, and who want to receive it again? That Russia allegedly refused to provide aid, did it not want to, or what? Will they invent something about that, too? No need. In that case, let’s say it as it is: that you simply refused it yourself. Why? Well, think about how to explain it," the Russian MFA spokesperson said.