What PACE, negotiate with Baku, are you fighting with PACE or with Baku? Tarasov.

The newspaper "Hraparak" writes: In the Armenian sphere of social networks, anti-Russian sentiments reached their peak yesterday. The voting regarding Armenian prisoners of war in PACE, during which the Russian representatives voted against, has outraged people. The Armenian reaction to this delicate and painful issue is unequivocal. We asked Russian analyst Modest Kolerov why Russia behaves this way with its military ally, especially considering that Armenia has consistently voted in favor of Russia in all international platforms, even regarding Crimea.

Mr. Kolerov stated: “There should be an adequate understanding in Armenia that the vote you are referring to was bundled; the issue of Alexei Navalny was also included. And Russia, under no circumstances, could support any topic related to the issue of Alexei Navalny. Secondly, if this is not understood in Armenia, if they don’t see it or don’t want to see it, then it is truly not worth talking about allied relations. An ally must have eyes and understand that if you want Russia to choose between your interests and its own, then Russia will always choose its own interest.”

Moreover, Mr. Kolerov vividly described the situation of their delegation, which, according to him, stood in front of the prospect of wrapping “Navalny’s noose around its own neck.” Unfortunately, our conversation took place before it became known that initially the PACE Bureau had agreed to present the issue regarding Armenian prisoners of war as a bundled vote, but at the initiative of the Azerbaijani representative Samad Seyidov, the issue was put to a separate vote, to which members of the Russian delegation voted against and abstained.

Later, we were unable to contact Mr. Kolerov again, but before that, we reminded him that, unlike Russia, Armenia had voted against the resolution presented by Ukraine regarding the situation in Crimea at the UN General Assembly in New York in 2014 and 2018, where Russia was criticized for violating the rights of the peninsula's residents and conducting discriminatory policies. Armenia was among the 23 votes against this resolution, standing with Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. In contrast, countries like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan abstained, and Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan did not vote at all. In response, he reiterated, “Once again, I draw your attention, that issue was bundled.”

We learned that members of the Armenian delegation in PACE are trying to contact their Russian counterparts to understand why some of them are against the discussion about the prisoners of war. Marukyan stated that the Russian delegation informed them of a communication issue, that they voted online. Marukyan suggested waiting for the speeches of the day, and if there are speeches from the Russian side supporting the Armenian side, it would just mean it was a technical issue. Later, it became known that 93 delegates voted in favor of including the issue on the agenda, 21 against, and 18 abstained. Among those who voted against were 5 members of the Russian delegation, while 7 others abstained.

We also spoke with Stanislav Tarasov, who stated: “What PACE, negotiate with Baku, are you fighting with PACE or with Baku? You should arrange things with them. And it’s foolish to try to pressure Baku through PACE.” He asked why Russia demands that Armenia votes in UN assemblies in the same manner as Russia does. Tarasov responded that these are completely different matters: “You are at war; you have prisoners of war. You need to be able to negotiate with Baku. What do you want to achieve from Baku through PACE, when Baku dismisses PACE entirely? When has Azerbaijan ever listened to PACE? And we want to withdraw from PACE because of Ukraine. And what’s your minister, ёлки палки, some regional dimwit! You need to call Baku, meet with your counterpart, whose last name was Bayramov, right? You need to solve the issues directly, not create scandals to return prisoners of war.”

Let us recall that Russia constantly positions itself as a champion of justice and consistently accuses the West of double standards. After Tarasov’s explanations, we asked whether Russia, in fact, also has double standards. “What standards? Are Russia’s prisoners of war in Baku? So, you don’t want to return them, and instead, you’re organizing political shows and clearing up relations with Russia? Well, let’s say we voted differently, would that change anything? No,” Tarasov added that the Russian side does not know what Azerbaijan wants with the Armenian prisoners of war. “Let those guys go; you’ve solved your problems; what do you need them for?” Tarasov posed a question directed at Azerbaijan.