We Also Accused Russia: Our Ally Failed to Assist Us in the War, Says Melkonyan

Armenia has no allies; we establish friendly relations with different countries and seek to establish allied relations with them. This was stated by Gagik Melkonyan, a member of the ruling 'Civil Contract' party, in an interview with NEWS.am.

According to him, since 2010, Russia began to shift the balance by arming the Azerbaijani army with offensive weapons. 'When we raised these issues, it was called business in Russia, assuring us that they would not allow them to be used against us. During the war in 2020, they forgot about us; Russia was passive. During the 44-day war, they did not supply us with weapons or military equipment, but only a certain amount of ammunition. Since 2020, Russia was also supposed to supply us with weapons but has not done so, despite having received the payment.',

he noted.

He added that in 2021 and 2022, when Azerbaijan began to seize Armenian territories, Russian soldiers left the area of Tegh village, allowing Azerbaijani troops to take their place. 'Forces were withdrawn from Vayk and Vardenis, knowing that an attack was imminent. This is our ally.',

Melkonyan emphasized.

He also mentioned that when other countries saw that we were not allies with the Russian Federation, they established military cooperation and friendly relations with us, referring to France and India.

'After this, we see that the USA has extended its hand to us, offering security proposals, and Germany is establishing friendly relations with us. They see that we want to become an independent country and are establishing friendly ties with us,' he added.

Commenting on the meeting between the head of Armenia's foreign ministry and Tikhanovskaya, the MP stated that Armenia is an independent state, and therefore 'meetings can take place with whomever they wish.' 'We are independent. Not everything is as it used to be when Russia would allow us to meet with someone or not. We must pursue our national interests. Belarus said it helped Azerbaijan win the war, which is why this attitude emerged. We also accused Russia; it was our ally, but it did not help us in the war.',

he noted.

As long as the CSTO does not recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia and calls for boundary delineation before recognizing it and taking appropriate actions, we have frozen those relations and are now carrying out border demarcation.',

he added.

He believes that any territorial change in Armenia, as well as a shift in foreign policy, should be decided by referendum, requiring the people's approval.