Russian society's reaction to Gyumri murders adequate –political analyst says

YEREVAN, January 16. / ARKA /. The reaction of the Russian society to the brutal killing of a six-member Armenian family in Gyumri by a soldier from the Russian military base is 'quite adequate," according to a political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan.

In an interview with Sputnik Radio he said the Russian society realizes the scale of the tragedy and many Russians bring flowers to the Armenian embassy in Moscow and there are also candle lighting ceremonies in many Russian cities.

'The Russian society is not indifferent to the Gyumri tragedy as some media reports claim," said Melik-Shahnazaryan.

According to him, Russia wants the Armenian society to have no doubts that it will  be consistent in the disclosure of the crime and a fair trial.

"Both the Russian law enforcement agencies and senior commanders of the military base in Gyumri have emphasized that Russia is ready to conduct the investigation together with the Armenian law enforcers. Both sides say also they can reach an agreement that the soldier, Valery Permyakov, serve the sentence in  the territory of Armenia," said Melik-Shahnazaryan.

He said the attempts to worsen relations between Moscow and Yerevan are not surprising because Armenia is in a region with a tough geopolitical struggle where even such tragedies as the one in Gyumri are used to harm the enemy.

Some 15 people, including three police officers, have been injured January 15 in scuffles between police and protesters in Gyumri, as protesters demanded that Russian authorities hand over the soldier accused of killing six members of the local family to Armenian bodies. According to Armenian police, Valery Permyakov has admitted to killings, whose victims included a two-year-old girl. -0-