Pashinyan is Simply a ‘Persona Grata’ in Turkey; They Are Interested in His Staying in Power, Says K. Zatulin

Konstantin Zatulin, a member of the "United Russia" faction in the State Duma and the first deputy chairman of the committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian integration, and relations with compatriots, was questioned about why Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu deemed the statement of the chief of Armenia's General Staff, Onik Gasparyan, as a coup attempt, condemning it and expressing support for Nikol Pashinyan, while Russia claims that the events in Armenia are an internal affair.

Zatulin laughed in response, calling the question rhetorical, and added: "Russia and Turkey treat Armenia differently and, therefore, interpret what is happening in different ways. The official Russian authorities would not want to get embroiled in Armenia's internal affairs, not to give anyone a reason to accuse Russia of using its influence, including our mediatory role in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, to affect processes related to our relations with Armenia. As for Turkey, in my observation and conviction, Turkey is not interested in Armenia becoming stronger, standing up on its feet, and straightening its back after that defeat. You personally determine why this non-interested Turkey supports the hypothesis propagated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which, in my assessment, is completely bare.”

In this context, Konstantin Zatulin added: “In this case, I and many others have the impression that Mr. Pashinyan is simply a 'persona grata' in Turkey. A person whom the Turks have a great desire to keep in power in Armenia.”

It should be recalled that Nikol Pashinyan called Vladimir Putin on his own initiative following the statement of Armenia's military-political leadership. This is the same leader of the country who had said about the 'Iskander,' which is a pride of the Russian military industry, that it did not work properly and exploded only 10% of the time. After the conversation, with a bit of "cunning," which is not the first time Pashinyan has done, the content of the phone call was distorted.

Specifically, there were significant differences between the communications posted on official Armenian and Kremlin websites about the phone conversations between him and Putin. As journalists say, “ten discrepancies were found.” The Armenian version states: “The leaders of the two countries discussed the internal political situation in Armenia. President Putin expressed his support for the legitimate authorities of Armenia and hoped for a prompt resolution of the situation.” Whereas the Russian version states: “The situation created in the republic was discussed. Vladimir Putin advocated for the restoration of order and calm in Armenia, favoring a resolution of the situation within the framework of legality. The Russian leader urged both parties to exercise restraint.”

Konstantin Zatulin commented on this “small oversight”: “In reality, President Putin hopes that everything will be resolved within the framework of legality, and the president of the Russian Federation would hardly have said anything else in this case. The President of the Russian Federation wouldn’t call for illegal actions in Armenia, would he? But Mr. Pashinyan distorted it by writing ‘supporting the legitimate authorities’ instead of ‘within the framework of legality,’ which, in this context, against the backdrop of the widespread protests encompassing all segments of Armenian society, is presented as direct support for the acting Prime Minister,” the newspaper writes.

Read the full article in today's issue of the newspaper.