The 180-degree turn reflects the desire of the current Armenian authorities to sacrifice the entire mass of ties with the Russian Federation and other close allies and partners for the sake of the temporary bonuses with which Yerevan was lured by the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Maria Zakharova, stated this at a press briefing Wednesday.
Responding to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan's statement that Moscow and Yerevan speak “different languages,” while the EU and the US have become Armenia’s main partners, Zakharova said: "I would like to make fun, but it's not worth doing. Not because I can't. I could do it. But because such people lead Armenia to a dead end."
Noting that it is about Mirzoyan's interview given to an Argentinian periodical, Zakharova noted that he was directly answering the question about the possibility of severing Armenia’s diplomatic relations with Russia and said that he could not predict the future.
"It's strange. Usually politicians in power don't just predict the future, they create it. They can predict the trends and say that they will do everything so that, for example, the negative scenario does not become reality. It is sad to hear Mr. Mirzoyan's words, especially considering the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, which is being celebrated today," said the Russian MFA official representative.
According to her, everyone can express his point of view.
"They can and maybe they should express, but there are also peoples of both countries. There are also the interests of the two peoples, which in this case should be prioritized," Zakharova emphasized.
She noted that Mirzoyan's argument that Armenia's main partners are now the EU and the US is based on the same logic.
"You may ask when is 'now?' March-April 2024? And before and after?" Does the story end there? Despite the fact that Armenia has allied relations with our country, it is a member of the EAEU, CSTO, CIS. As for the EAEU and CIS, Armenia gets economic profit from that interaction.
Until recently, the Armenian leadership declared at the highest level that these organizations are fundamentally important for Armenia's security and economic development, preventing its isolation in the South Caucasus. Is that already forgotten? When did they deceive? Then or now?" asked Zakharova, reminding that all this is reflected in the joint statement of the leaders of Armenia and Russia on April 19, 2022.
Is this joint statement no longer related to the Armenian MFA, also asked the official representative of the Russian MFA?
"I would like to hear the answer. What an 180-degree turn is this? Obviously, this reflects the desire of the current authorities of Armenia to sacrifice the entire mass of ties with the Russian Federation and other closest allies and partners for the sake of the temporary bonuses with which Yerevan was lured by the European Union and the United States. But the question is that they are not betraying us, not their partners-allies, they are betraying their people; that is the problem," Zakharova said.
