"Russia will never be Armenia's enemy," says Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman
YEREVAN, September 13. /ARKA/. Russia is not Armenia's enemy and will never become one, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with RIA Novosti news agency on the margins of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Far East Vladivostok.
"It was not Russia that recognized Azerbaijan's rights to Nagorno-Karabakh, it was the Armenian leadership that did it. It is up to them, the people of Armenia, to decide how to treat it. But one should not put the blame and responsibility for the decisions made in Yerevan on Russia. One should not look for an enemy in Russia. Russia has never been Armenia's enemy and never will be," she said.
Zakharova also added that Moscow's harsh reaction to Yerevan's harsh statements about Russia "is caused by the substitution of notions."
"We paid attention not even so much to the tone and personal insulting and boorishness, but to the fact that they (anti-Russian statement) were based on untruths, inaccuracies or an attempt to substitute facts for their reflection. That's what caused our reaction, that's why the Armenian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry," Zakharova said.
According to her, "if we react to daily boorish statement targeting Russia, we can no longer work, but only write notes of protest."
"Secondly, it is not our style to respond to this rudeness. It's just not our method. We are above this daily bickering, except for situations when it comes to the substitution of concepts of fundamental importance," she said.
In addition, Zakharova warned of the danger of "the temptation to find the guilty" when "something does not work out or goes wrong."
"Because this can lead to catastrophic consequences. This is dangerous for Armenia," she warned.
On September 8, the Russian foreign ministry summoned Armenian ambassador to protest upcoming joint military exercises with the United States and other complaints, highlighting growing tensions between the two countries.
“The leadership of Armenia has taken a series of unfriendly steps in recent days," the Russian ministry said in a statement, citing the joint exercises, Armenia's provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and its moves to ratify the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court, which this year indicted President Putin for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine.
The Russian ministry also complained of remarks by the chairman of Armenia's parliament that it regarded as insulting to ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. -0-
