Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT TV channel and “Rossiya Segodnya” (“Russia Today”) News Agency, wrote a post criticizing the current authorities of Armenia, calling them “a handful of screaming politicians who betrayed the interests of the great Armenian people for a moment of power and petty personal revenge.”
The appeal was published on 18 July, in the conditions of aggravation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and caused great discontent both in the Armenian Diaspora and in Armenia.
Later, Simonyan published a list of the names of representatives of the Armenian Diaspora in Russia who “signed” under that call. There are 26 names in the list. In an interview with RBC on 28 July, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on the claims of Margarita Simonyan.
Simonyan: In response to the long-term goodness and protection you received from Russia, you did not recognize Crimea.
Pashinyan: Armenia has not yet recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. Does this mean that we are not defending Nagorno-Karabakh? No, we say that Armenia is the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Simonyan: You arrested Robert Kocharyan, Russia’s permanent ally purely for political revenge. Arrested on purpose, defiantly, spitting right in the face of their ‘Russian friends’.
Pashinyan: Russia must understand that Russia’s ally in Armenia is Russia’s Ally is not Pashinyan or Petrosyan, Poghosyan, Sargsyan, Kocharyan; the ally and partner is the Armenian People. This is a very important nuance.
Simonyan: You have flooded the country with anti-Russian NGOs that teach young people on your territory how to overthrow the government in Russia. You have become a springboard for anti-Russian forces in the Caucasus.
Pashinyan: They were created 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 Kocharyan, the time of Serzh Sargsyan. If they were so pro-Russian, why didn’t they close these organizations?
