ArmInfo.The leadership of the Russian Federation shows constant and sincere interest in the fate of its CSTO ally, Armenia. This is stated in the greeting from Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova to the participants of the Russian-Armenian Media Forum taking place in Yerevan.
Welcoming the forum participants, Zakharova noted that the priority of joint work is to strengthen the alliance between Russia and Armenia. "The tangible result of this attention is the rapid development of economic ties between the two countries. Russia is the main foreign investor in the Armenian economy: 40% of all investments, more than $2.2 billion. To preserve all this, it is necessary to maintain a healthy information background of Russian-Armenian ties," emphasized the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
At the same time, she noted that no one can be satisfied with the recent prevailing clear tendency in the information space of Armenia to disseminate one-sided, negative, and often simply untrue information about Russia and Russian- Armenian relations. "Let's talk about the problems openly. We consider unacceptable attempts to incite enmity and hatred between our people by blaming Russia for all the troubles of the Armenian people. And, of course, about the information that literally struck the information space of both Russia and Armenia yesterday, detention of Sputnik Armenia radio columnist Ashot Gevorgyan and blogger Mika Badalyan. The provocation committed directly during our Russian-Armenian media forum is aimed, apparently, at disrupting this important event for bilateral relations. Obviously, those same forces are behind this provocation who are not interested in bringing our countries and their people closer together. Russia, for its part, is interested in jointly, honestly and in a constructive manner, looking for ways to rectify the situation. Do not give in to provocations. Our common history and our common future will endure all this," Maria Zakharova emphasized.
Yesterday, the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia issued a report on the detention of seven citizens in the Syunik region of Armenia, including pro-Russian blogger Mika Badalyan and Sputnik Armenia radio columnist Ashot Gevorgyan. They are charged with illegal trafficking in firearms, their main components and ammunition. An investigation team has been formed. Investigative and production procedures are being carried out. "The Investigative Committee will later issue a report on the circumstances of the criminal case," RA Investigative Committee press secretary Gor Abrahamyan wrote on his Facebook page