Russian FM commented on arrest of Gyumri mayor

ArmInfo.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed bewilderment at the arrest of Vardan Ghukasyan, the mayor of the Armenian city of Gyumri, simply for voicing pro-Russian political views.

"Regarding Vardan Ghukasyan, you were absolutely right to mention  that he is accused of calling for consideration of Armenia's  accession to the union between Russia and Belarus. Arresting him for  expressing political views that are in no way aimed at undermining  Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, but rather aimed at  maximizing its foreign relations for its own development, is, of  course, deeply puzzling," Lavrov said at a press conference on the  results of 2025. He added that Russia expects Armenian political  figures not to be persecuted for advocating for the development and  deepening of cooperation with the Russian Federation.

As a reminder, Vardan Ghukasyan was arrested on October 21, 2025, on  bribery charges. On October 26, his lawyers announced a new case  against him for "public calls to renounce Armenia's sovereignty" in  connection with his statements about a union with Russia and Belarus.  On November 21, it was announced that Vardan Ghukasyan had been  charged with a third offense under Article 297 of the Armenian  Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of persons using  information or communication technologies- the maximum penalty is up  to five years' imprisonment).

On December 17, 2025, the court extended Vardan Ghukasyan's pretrial  detention for another three months.  On January 1, 2026, lawyer  Zaruhi Postanjyan published a notice from the investigator stating  that the prosecution initiated against Gyumri Mayor Vardan for  calling for the renunciation of sovereignty was unfounded and the  case under this article was dismissed.