«They Will Also Leave the Iranian Border». Gagik Melikonyan

Russia has betrayed us since 2020. This was stated today, October 17, by Gagik Melikonyan, a member of the National Assembly from the ruling Civil Contract party, in an interview with NEWS.am.

“If we have economic ties and relationships with Russia, and we do not want Russia to be our master, does that mean it is wrong to go to Russia and talk with the Russians? After all, we are economically connected, and it is not only us who are connected to Russia; they are benefiting as well,” said the MP.

According to him, Armenia has always tied its security to Russia up until 2020. “Since Russia was considered our security guarantor, but after 2020, we saw that things changed for Russia; they changed their ally, their ally is Azerbaijan, not Armenia, and they kept the interests of Azerbaijan. Russia has betrayed us since 2020. When there was an attack on Jermuk, the Russians fled from the border. Of course, they will also leave the Iranian border and the Turkish border. Yes, they are right to do so; we must maintain our borders if we are an independent country. It is not the case that Russian troops are now stationed on the Turkish border; no, 80 percent of the soldiers there are Armenian,” he noted.

Referring to the movement and actions of Bishop Bagrat, Melikonyan stated that they do not intend to give power to him. “We know what Bagrat wants; we know his message. He wants power, which we will not give. No one will give power to a person who does not know what he will do tomorrow, who cannot envision tomorrow. If he has an idea, let him explain, for example, how he envisions the ninth point of the November 9 declaration. Where does he see Armenia — within Russia, or in a Russian-Belarusian alliance? They want to become a periphery of Russia, that is their goal,” he emphasized.