Putin congratulated Kocharyan on his birthday, Russia never betrays its friends and partners: Andrey Kortunov

Andrey Kortunov, Russian expert commented to Alpha News on the congratulatory telegram from Russian President Vladimir Putin sent to Robert Kocharyan, the second President of Armenia, on the occasion of his birthday, and also assessed the political processes taking place in the republic today.

“It seems to me that Robert Kocharyan, the second president of Armenia, has always been a supporter of the strategic partnership between Moscow and Yerevan. He had numerous contacts, including with the top Russian leadership. Probably, Vladimir Putin’s position confirms one of the principles of Russian foreign policy – Russia never betrays its partners and its friends, even if they find themselves in a difficult situation,” said Kortunov.

According to the expert, this applies not only to Kocharyan himself, but also to those Armenian politicians and public figures who can be called supporters of developing relations with Russia.

“This probably applies not only to Kocharyan, but also to those politicians and public figures in Armenia who can be described as supporters of the republic’s pro-Russian orientation. It’s clear that they’re having a hard time right now. It is clear that the Armenian leadership is betting on the country’s rapprochement with the EU, first of all. But such statements indicate that the issues of the situation of this part of the Armenian political elite and Armenian public figures will not leave Moscow indifferent,” said Kortunov.

As Kortunov emphasized, Vladimir Putin thus makes it clear that he cares about Robert Kocharyan’s fate, despite Russia’s principled position on non-interference in Armenia’s internal affairs.

“This issue is not very convenient for bilateral relations. At the same time, both Putin and other Russian leaders have repeatedly stated that Russia has no desire to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs. These are issues that should be resolved by Yerevan, not Moscow. Nevertheless, such a position has been stated, and it is probably fundamental for the Russian leadership,” the expert said.

According to Kortunov, Moscow’s main signal is that Russia maintains a respectful attitude towards politicians who have contributed to the development of Armenian-Russian relations.

“We express concern, we confirm that these politicians have contributed to the development of bilateral relations. We still treat them with respect. I think that’s exactly the kind of signal they wanted to convey,” concluded Kortunov.