Moscow Criticized the Armenian Prime Minister for “Turning His Back on Russia”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry in a lengthy statement criticized the latest claims by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who on the eve described as ineffective the security structures his country has recently relied on. “Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's independence message of 24 September 2023 contains unacceptable attacks on Russia and can cause only rejection. It is an attempt to absolve Armenia of responsibility for failures in its domestic and foreign policy by shifting the blame to Moscow,” the ministry said. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that anti-Russian tendencies in Armenia have a systemic character. “The head of the government, in fact, admitted that all this time the republic was deliberately prepared to turn away from Russia. They unconvincingly justify their steps designed to set a new - Western - vector of Armenia’s development by the mistakes that allegedly took place on the part of the Russian Federation and the CSTO," the ministry noted. The Russian ministry claims that the implementation of the trilateral agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh has stalled mainly because of “the Armenian leadership’s inconsistent position, which instead of working rhythmically together with Russia and Azerbaijan preferred to flounder and run to the West” “This irresponsible approach of Pashinyan’s team caused understandable discontent in part of the Armenian society, which was expressed in popular protests. Of course, the claims that they were inspired by Russia have nothing to do with reality,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, noting that “a real anti-Russian bacchanalia” has been unleashed in the Armenian media at the behest of the authorities. “We are convinced that Yerevan is making a huge mistake, deliberately trying to destroy Armenia’s multifaceted and centuries-old ties with Russia and making the country a hostage of the West’s geopolitical games,” the statement said. On Sunday Armenian prime minister stressed that the security systems and allies on which his country has relied for years “have shown our vulnerability.” Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which is effectively controlled by Russia. Recently relations between Armenia and the CSTO have cooled considerably. After the war over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, the CSTO never provided any practical assistance to Yerevan. Recently Pashinyan claimed the “failures” of Russia’s peacekeepers in unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh led to the latest escalation. He also said last week that Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as a guarantor of its security.