Video: Russian Authorities Have 'Let Down' Armenia and the Armenian People, Says Alen Simonyan

Alen Simonyan, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia, stated today during a press conference that he is not familiar with the statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry and is not prepared to comment on it on behalf of the Armenian Foreign Ministry. This was in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry's complaint note sent to Armenia following the visit of the Armenian delegation to Bucha, which was deemed a ‘hostile act’.

Simonyan sarcastically asked whether Russia had sent a complaint note to the New Nork municipal office. “As for actions considered unfriendly, they should look at their own actions since 2020. Armenia has always regarded itself as a loyal partner. With the naivety of a child, we believed and hoped until the last moment that Russia would not leave Armenia alone, that it would not ‘let down’ Armenia and the Armenian people. The Russian authorities have ‘let down’ Armenia and the Armenian people. I sincerely apologize for this expression. We have been deceived and left alone,” Simonyan stated.

He expressed light disbelief and jealousy at how thousands of rockets were directed toward Israel and how naval forces approached Israel's borders to intercept missiles falling on Israel. “I don’t know during those 44 days, and am not even going to discuss whether it was worth allowing that war to happen; whether Russia was so weak in 2020 that it let our children be broken. Was there not a single ship in the Caspian Sea that could come closer to Azerbaijan? Was there, or was there not? Let alone the fact that throughout the entire war we naively hoped that we could stop something somehow, we tried every possible option, and even long after the war, despite the announcement that it was an Azerbaijani territory, we continued to do everything possible to halt that process. And Russia did not leave Armenia an alternative besides trying to defend itself independently,” he added.

Responding to a question regarding how Russia's note would be followed up, Simonyan said he did not know. When asked why Russia left Armenia alone, he implied, “Because they were preparing for the war in Ukraine, and after downing a plane in Syria, a significant deal happened with Turkey, the ultimate goal of which was to have the capacity to bypass possible sanctions in this region. Or it was the price Armenians had to pay because they chose the option of being independent and sovereign, and for that, Armenians had to be punished. Armenians should order that they have no choice, that the president here would call and say, ‘I am elected,’ and they would congratulate him from there, and he would become the legitimate president here, just like they did on March 1. There was a deal, and there was a punishment. The goal was to kill two rabbits with one shot. In other words, to make a deal, receive that pill that Azerbaijan and Turkey represent now, while the price for Armenia was that a change of power would occur in the Republic of Armenia, and a pro-Russian power would come in and say that the former ones would be to blame, and today the Republic of Armenia should be a member of the Russia-Belarus union because we cannot be safe without the Russians. If the Russians are not here, we cannot exist. Our fault is that we say ‘no,’ we are a state, and we must be sovereign.”