ArmInfo. Moscow received preliminary comments from Yerevan on the issue of broadcasting Russian TV channels on the territory of Armenia and conveyed its vision. Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated at a briefing on March 20, commenting on the statement of Minister of High-Technological Industry of Armenia Mkhitar Hayrapetyan that the department will make new proposals to Russian partners to exclude programs with anti-Armenian content.
"We are in contact with the Armenian side on this issue, we are having consultations. The exchange of views is not completed, we received preliminary comments from Yerevan, conveyed our thoughts and are, as I said, in close contact," she said.
Zakharova added that the main task of both sides is to resolve all problematic issues and prevent the emergence of new ones in the spirit of mutual respect. Participants in the dialogue should strive for exactly this.
Earlier, Minister of High-Technological Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan announced that consultations would be held in Moscow in the near future within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement between Armenia and Russia in the field of mass telecommunications.
According to him, Armenia will present decisions and proposals regarding the settlement of the issue related to the broadcasting of Russian TV channels in Armenia, which are based both on the logic of the Agreement and on the interests of the Republic of Armenia. Hayrapetyan also emphasized that the tools operating under the Agreement to control and prevent such content do not work. The RA Television and Radio Commission recorded violations of Article 5 of the Agreement on Cooperation between Armenia and Russia in the field of mass telecommunications. The Russian side recognized this fact, as a result of which a joint statement was signed. As a result of consultations held in December last year, an agreement was reached between the parties to take steps to properly comply with all points of the Agreement.
However, already in February 2024, the Armenian side recorded a new violation, and therefore the Armenian Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the Russian side.