Opposition blames Lavrov for pressing Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh issue

Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), is putting pressure on the Armenian authorities, demanding that they give in to Azerbaijan and Turkey on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, activists of the National Democratic Pole (NDP) have stated at a rally held near the Russian Embassy to Armenia. They demanded to declare Lavrov a persona non grata in Armenia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the opposition is holding actions in Yerevan demanding the resignation of the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan; the protests were launched on April 25 after the Premier's statement about a possibility of "lowering the bar" on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

On June 9, supporters of the NDP and "Sasna Tsrer" organized a protest action in Yerevan in connection with Sergey Lavrov's arrival in Armenia to take part in the sitting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization).

The organizers of the action have accused Sergey Lavrov of initiating the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrendering territories to Azerbaijan. Lavrov "should be declared persona non grata in Armenia," they have stated.

Garegin Chugaszyan, a board member of the NDP, said that the trilateral talks (Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan) have failed to bode well for the Armenian people, since after the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia was held hostage and would be constantly blackmailed to impose another anti-Armenian plan.

Karo Egnukyan, an NDP member, has stated that Armenia fulfils the demands of Russia and Turkey. "Since Armenia has no diplomatic relations with Turkey, and Russia is allegedly acting on the allied side, the demands are being implemented through the mediation of Russia. Lavrov has come to advise Armenia to surrender its positions to Turkey and Azerbaijan as soon as possible and at the same time threatens that if it is not fulfilled, there will be new war," Mr Egnukyan has noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 10, 2022 at 00:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.