ArmInfo.The seriousness of the incident in Gyumri is undoubted, however, I believe that the politicization of this incident is unacceptable. Such an opinion on December 18 at a press conference was expressed by the Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin, speaking of the recent tragic case of a woman being killed by servicemen of the 102nd Russian base.
The Ambassador said that he was not authorized to comment on the incident, as this issue concerns the investigation, as well as the interaction of the investigating authorities with the military base. "As far as I know, this interaction is carried out very closely on the basis of the Armenian legislation and the legal documents that regulate the activities of the base in Armenia," Kopirkin stressed.
The Ambassador said that the Russian side has repeatedly noted that such issues cannot be politicized. "This is a terrible crime and the culprit should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But we believe that politicizing such incidents will not contribute to the effectiveness and objectivity of the investigation," Kopyrkin stressed.
The Ambassador stressed that the Russian side, of course, is very concerned about the reaction of the Armenian society to this issue. "We are certainly very worried about how the Armenian society reacted to this incident. It's written in the agreement between Russia and Armenia that the base works with the local population. We appreciate the assessment of the local residents in connection with the activities of the Russian base, and we He is in contact with the leadership of the Russian military base on this issue. It is a pity that such incidents cause particular resonance, while the systematic work of the base in a number of different areas remains in the shadow, and does not cause much interest in the media", the Ambassador said.
The Ambassador also noted that around this incident certain attempts were made to set the direction to the investigation and to form certain moods, which the embassy categorically opposed.
To note, on December 3 in the city of Gyumri a criminal case was initiated into the murder of the 57-year- old cleaner. The woman died as a result of the resulting grievous bodily harm. On December 11, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia reported that a soldier of the 102nd Russian military base stationed in Gyumri was arrested on suspicion of causing serious bodily injuries resulting in death. In connection with this, the Russian Embassy in Armenia issued a statement urging not to politicize the issue, since after the incident opinions began to sound about the need to withdraw the Russian military base from Armenia.