“Russia is an absolutely integral part of this region, so it cannot go anywhere. Russia cannot leave Armenia,” Peskov said, adding that it will continue to play the role of a regional “security guarantor.”
“There are more Armenians living in Russia than in Armenia itself, and most of them are exemplary, patriotic citizens of the Russian Federation who make a significant contribution to the development of our country,” he told reporters.
Peskov went on to also emphasize Armenia’s close economic ties with Russia which were instrumental in double-digit economic growth recorded in the South Caucasus last year.
President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary responded to Pashinian’s claims that Russia is “unwilling or unable” to defend Armenia despite bilateral treaties and may “leave” the South Caucasus in the near future. In a newspaper interview publicized over the weekend, Pashinian also said that Armenia’s long-standing heavy reliance on Russia for security has proved a “strategic mistake.”
An unnamed Russian diplomatic source quoted by the official TASS news agency denounced his comments on Tuesday. He also warned Yerevan against helping the West “squeeze Russia out” of the region.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, was more scathing about the Armenian leader’s latest jibes at Moscow.
“One should have the ability to answer for their own actions, rather than blame others and do so endlessly, on every occasion,” Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow on Tuesday.
“You need to take your own responsibility and not shift that responsibility onto someone else,” she said. “This is what makes a politician, a statesman different from a passing person who does not think about the interests of his country.”
Tensions between two allied countries have steadily increased over the past year, with Armenian leaders increasingly complaining about what they see as a lack of Russian support for Armenia in the conflict with Azerbaijan.