Over 142 Thousand Russians Arrived in Armenia in the First Quarter, Says Head of Migration Service

Over 142 thousand Russians arrived in Armenia during the first quarter, stated the Head of the Migration Service Armen Ghazaryan in an interview with Azatutyun.

He also presented how many citizens from Ukraine have applied for asylum. “During the first quarter, there were over 142 thousand border crossings into the Republic of Armenia with Russian passports, with over 130 thousand exits. The difference is around 4 thousand. However, in no case can we say that only 4 thousand Russian citizens arrived… it cannot be said that they stayed. This is simply the difference in border crossings for one quarter, which can provide a certain understanding of the dynamics overall,” said Armen Ghazaryan.

He noted that currently there are about 80 asylum requests from Ukrainian citizens, with more than half of them being of Armenian ethnicity. “In regard to Ukraine, the number of entries in the first quarter of this year has increased more than twofold compared to the same period last year. Last year we had around 2500 entries, while this year there are already around 6 thousand. The difference is overall about 400, but again, we cannot say that only 400 have remained in Armenia,” he added.