Opposition in Armenia Reached Out to Moscow for Support Against Pashinyan, Says Zatulin

The opposition in Armenia has previously reached out to Moscow for support in their fight against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This was announced by Konstantin Zatulin, a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, during an interview with the radio station "Moscow Speaks."

Zatulin specifically noted that after Pashinyan decided to hold snap parliamentary elections in 2021, the opposition sought assistance from Russia, asking for some form of visible support. However, the Russian side declined, citing concerns that if the Armenian opposition came to power, they might abandon the trilateral statement from November 9, 2020.

“Moscow believed that rejecting the document could provoke a new war; they did not want to get involved. We said, ‘No way. If Pashinyan signed the statement on the end of the war in Karabakh on November 9, 2020, and if he is removed from office, military operations will begin again. We will be drawn in, and we do not want to; we have our own affairs, so do not support him,’” explained Zatulin.

Zatulin also addressed the CSTO. According to him, when Azerbaijan penetrated deep into Armenia in September 2022, the CSTO was expected to respond immediately, but this did not happen, which Pashinyan then exploited. “As for the CSTO, it also acted incorrectly in September 2022 when Azerbaijan began to advance into the depths of Armenia. This truly happened. There should have been an immediate response, at least a call to act, a public statement, and so on. There were delays in our response. And Pashinyan took advantage of this. He is very adept at manipulation; he is a manipulator. This is the only thing he knows how to do, and he does it. It should be noted that the level of trust toward Russia is, of course, decreasing, particularly in Armenia, due in part to constant brainwashing throughout the day on social media, television, and so forth. And we need to fight against this,” Zatulin elaborated.