ArmInfo. The ally of Russia in Armenia is the Armenian people, not individual politicians, while the NGOs that are considered hostile to Russia have been working since the presidency of those whose loyalty no one doubted in Russia, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with RBC, answering the post of RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan about ungrateful Armenia.
According to the head of the Armenian government, the post of Margarita Simonyan about the Armenian- Russian relations caused a sharp negative reaction in Armenian circles and in Armenia. Noting this, Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that all the above claims are untenable.
On July 18, Margarita Simonyan wrote a call to the Armenian authorities on her Telegram channel. <In response to the long-term goodness and protection that you received from Russia, you did not recognize Crimea. Because this is an internal affair of Armenia. Exclusively out of political revenge, you put Robert Kocharyan, Russia's constant ally, in prison. You have flooded the country with anti-Russian NGOs that are teaching young people on your territory how to overthrow the government in Russia. You have become a springboard for anti-Russian forces in the Caucasus, "she said. The editor-in-chief of RT wrote that she was forced to express her position by the "Internet troops" of the Armenian authorities. "After all that you have done, Russia has every moral right to spit on you and grind you," she concluded.
Armenia has not yet recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. Does this mean that we are not defending Nagorno-Karabakh? No>, Pashinyan noted, commenting on the first thesis. But at the same time, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are a single security space, and this is a fact, he recalled. The Prime Minister noted that Armenia has its own considerations for resolving this conflict, while Azerbaijan has its own. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev constantly makes statements that Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan, with which Armenia categorically disagrees. Commenting on the claims for the arrest of the country's former President Robert Kocharian, accused of overthrowing the constitutional order in 2008 (due to the dispersal of a rally against the election results in March 2008, during which ten people died), Pashinyan noted that not individual politicians are allies of Russia , but the whole Armenian people.
"Russia should understand that Russia's ally in Armenia is not Pashinyan, not Petrosyan, not Poghosyan, not Sargsyan, not Kocharyan, the ally and partner is the Armenian people. This is a very important nuance, "the prime minister said. According to him, many figures for a long time presented themselves as the sole ally of Russia, but the ally of Russia is the Armenian people. The Prime Minister stated that Armenia and Russia have common strategic interests, regardless of Pashinyan, Poghosyan, Petrosyan, Ivanov, Petrov or Sidorov. He added that the citizens of Armenia should reckon with the aspirations of the Russians, and the Russians - with the aspirations of the Armenian people.
Responding to a complaint about the work of non-profit organizations, the head of the Armenian government recalled that they began to work much earlier than he came to power in 2018.
"They were established at a time when no one in Russia doubted the pro-Russian aspirations of the Armenian government. All these organizations were created during the time of Robert Kocharian, the time of Serzh Sargsyan. If the latters were so pro-Russian, why did they not close these organizations, and why did they suddenly become anti-Russian since 2018? '' Pashinyan noted. Kocharian served as president from 1998 to 2008, and Serzh Sargsyan from 2008 to 2018.