Unacceptable to Blame Russia for Armenia's Troubles, Says Zakharova

Maria Zakharova, the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that it is unacceptable to blame Russia for all the misfortunes of the Armenian people, as it incites enmity and hatred between our peoples. She made the remarks during the Russian-Armenian media forum in Yerevan.

“There is an absurd precedent regarding the inclusion of Konstantin Zatulin, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots, M.S. Simonyan, the Editor-in-Chief of the 'Rossiya Segodnya' international news agency and RT television channel, international expert A.M. Mhiranyan, and media manager A.A. Gabrielianov in 'black lists'. Additionally, the refusal to allow V.V. Krivopuskova, president of the Russia-Armenia Friendship and Cooperation Society, and former head of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in the Republic, to enter the country this August is alarming,” she stated.

Zakharova further added, “You know that this type of ‘unwelcome’ status for leading Russian media managers and political scientists, who have not violated the law but simply expressed their personal views, significantly harms the cooperation between Russia and Armenia, especially in the informational sphere.”