Pashinyan on Detaining Russian Citizen in Gyumri

The law enforcement bodies of Armenia are investigating the case of a Russian citizen who is on the wanted list. This statement was made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a question-and-answer session with the government in the National Assembly, responding to a question from Anush Kloyan, a member of the 'Civil Contract' faction.

The deputy noted that employees of the Russian military police had kidnapped Russian citizen Anatoly Shchetinin in Gyumri, and he is being held unlawfully in the territory of the 102nd Russian military base. According to Kloyan, it appears that people do not feel safe in our country.

Pashinyan was not pleased with the deputy's conclusion. "Now Azerbaijani media will take this and start spreading it, claiming that it is unsafe in Armenia and that tourists should not come here. Unfortunately, hundreds of crimes occur in Armenia; one cannot conclude from this that people cannot feel safe in Armenia. International rating organizations state that Armenia ranks 7th among safe countries," he emphasized.

Shortly after, Pashinyan announced that he had been informed that two days ago, the Russian citizen had attempted to leave Armenia via Zvartnots Airport, but since there was a warrant issued against him, he was handed over to the police. There has been no detention order against the citizen, which is why he has been released, and efforts are underway to determine his whereabouts.