Why Solovyov's Programs Have Been Blocked

Russian broadcaster Vladimir Solovyov's shows have been blocked in our country because a consensus could not be reached with the Russian side regarding violations of the provisions of the Armenian-Russian agreement. This was announced by the Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, Mikayel Hayrapetyan, during a Q&A session with the government in the National Assembly, in response to a question from Sona Ghazaryan, a member of the 'Civil Contract' faction, regarding why the programs 'Evening with Vladimir Solovyov' and 'Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov' aired on the RTR-Planet channel have been prohibited in our country.

“This does not mean that we are at an impasse in negotiations. If not this week, then next week we plan to send our package of proposals to our Russian colleagues regarding how we envision the new edits to the agreement,” Hayrapetyan stated. He added that the Armenian side is very constructive, as the goal is not to escalate the situation, but to obtain a working document as a result of healthy debate. According to him, the new document must clearly specify the provisions that would lead to appropriate sanctions in case of violations.

The minister also emphasized that the Armenian side approaches the negotiations with optimism, otherwise, he does not rule out the possibility that the Republic of Armenia may consider the option of unilaterally terminating the agreement.