Russia’s Federation Council chair suggests sending inquiry to Armenia’s parliament regarding its speaker’s statements

Valentina Matviyenko, Chair of Russia’s Federation Council, proposed to send an inquiry to the Armenian parliament in connection with Speaker Alen Simonyan’s statements on Russia, RIA Novosti reports.

Speaker Alen Simonyan used the term “invasion” when talking about the conflict in Ukraine, noting that Armenia upholds the territorial integrity of this country, as well as that of Moldova, Georgia, and Cyprus. The text of his speech at the Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments was published by the parliamentary press service.

Grigory Karasin, Chair of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, brought up this topic at the plenary session on Wednesday, emphasizing the unfriendly tone of the Armenian speaker’s statement.

“I would like to ask on whose behalf he made such statements. Certainly not on behalf of the Armenian people. I would send a written inquiry to ask on whose behalf he was speaking,” Matviyenko said.

She expressed hope that the Parliament would voice its position.

Karasin noted that the Armenian speaker had crossed all limits.

“We consider the statements about Russia’s ‘invasion’, as well as Armenia’s ‘firm support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine’, to be direct solidarity with the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev. It turns out that Simonyan is already questioning our sovereignty, ignores the will of residents of new regions, clearly expressed during the referendums, to reunite with the Russian Federation,” Karasin said on his Telegram channel.

According to him, attempts to portray Russia as a threat to the security of Armenia (and, at the same time, Moldova and Georgia) do not hold water. 
Karasin noted that Russia and Armenia are allies, and this is enshrined in the 1997 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance and the 2000 Declaration on Allied Partnership oriented towards the 21st century, with Armenia being a member of the CSTO and the EAEU.