Armenia’s ambassador to Ukraine, Vladimir Karapetian, and the chief executive of Yerevan’s northern Nor Nork district, Tigran Ter-Margarian, travelled to Bucha amid a continuing deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations. They met with the town’s mayor, delivered humanitarian aid to local hospitals and lit candles at a memorial to Bucha residents killed following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“We are proud of the courage of the Ukrainian people who defend their freedom and independence on the battlefield,” Bucha’s municipal council quoted Ter-Margarian as saying in a statement on the trip.
“The city of Yerevan and Nor Nork district will always support Bucha and other communities affected by Russian aggression. This humanitarian aid is only a small part of our solidarity,” he added, according to the statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, condemned on Sunday the “overtly unfriendly step on the part of official Yerevan.”
“In connection with the transfer of aid for the needs of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the inadmissible statements made there against Russia, a note of protest was sent to the Foreign Ministry of Armenia,” she said in written comments posted on the ministry website.
Ter-Margarian is affiliated with the pro-Western Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party allied to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Yerevan’s pro-government Mayor Tigran Avinian appointed him as head of the Nor Nork administration last fall as part of a power-sharing deal struck by Hanrapetutyun and Pashinian’s Civil Contract party.
“We did not expect anything else from a figure like Tigran Ter-Margarian … It is unfortunate that the Armenian authorities are in solidarity with this,” added Zakharova.
Bucha has become a stop for international visitors to Ukraine because of atrocities committed against its civilian residents in February and March 2022. Moscow denies accusations of executions, rapes and torture by Russian troops that occupied the town for 33 days.
Armenian leaders were until recently careful not to openly criticize the Russian invasion. Pashinian voiced such criticism during a February visit to Germany, underscoring Yerevan’s deepening rift with Moscow.
Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a close Pashinian ally, reiterated the criticism in April when he attended and addressed a meeting of his counterparts from European Union member states held in Spain. Senior Russian lawmakers reacted furiously to Simonian’s speech, demanding an official explanation from the Armenian parliament.