Russian President Should Not Congratulate Pashinyan, Modest Kolerov

“The Russian president should not congratulate Pashinyan on winning the parliamentary elections in the party struggle. This is not at the level of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The responsible parties in this matter are Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin. They will respond. Let’s wait; I think there is still time to wait until the end of the week. However, if this pause continues, we will discuss the reasons in more detail,” said Modest Kolerov, a first-class state advisor from Russia, in an interview with a correspondent from 168 Hours regarding the delay in the Russian side congratulating the ruling force on their victory in the parliamentary elections.

He noted that various reasons could explain this delay. In response to our observation that Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously congratulated former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the victory of the Republican Party (RPA) in the parliamentary elections, Modest Kolerov acknowledged that there are reasons for the current situation.

The Russian expert stated that this situation is likely connected to the decision to arrest former Armenian President Robert Kocharian. German political scientist Alexander Rahr assessed that this is an exceptional circumstance in Armenian-Russian relations, although it is normal in practice for congratulations to be delayed. However, he noted that if the traditional level and timing of congratulations change, it is a signal that there is a problem, a lack of trust in the relations.

“Nevertheless, this is a message that there is a problem. Even if there is a congratulation, the Russian side has already conveyed its message, and the Armenian authorities are likely aware of what the issue is,” Alexander Rahr concluded,” the newspaper writes.