There is no point in blaming Russia if you are not ready to defend your own interests — Konstantin Zatulin

The accusations against Russia that it was the cause of what happened to Artsakh in 2023 mean that Armenia does not consider itself an independent state, Konstantin Zatulin, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, told Alpha News.

“In other words, the Armenian authorities do not believe that Armenia itself should do anything in defense. Anyone should defend Armenia’s interests; Russia should have defended them, and today Armenia hopes that France or America will defend it. At the same time, they do not make any claims to themselves. I do not want to say ‘sink or swim’, but without Armenia’s own efforts to assert its position and defend it, nothing like that will happen,” the politician said. Zatulin cited the example of the Middle East and, in particular, Israel.

“You can have different attitudes towards Israel, and in many cases it pursues a policy that is hostile to us in some issues. We cannot support it when it does what it does in Gaza or elsewhere. But, mind you, the population of Israel is slightly larger than the population of Armenia. At the most difficult moment, when threats arise, the population of Israel unites in the fight against this threat. In any case, this conclusion can be drawn from the series of wars that took place in the Middle East after the formation of the State of Israel, and many of them were successful for it. Yes, the support of the United States played a role here, but Israel’s determination to defend itself also played a role. If the authorities in Armenia honor a coward and believe that this is the lesson they should teach the citizens of Armenia, well then, as they say, ‘don’t blame the mirror for your ugly face’, that’s the Russian expression. There is no point in blaming Russia if you yourselves are not ready to defend your own interests and put everything in its place in domestic policy,” the politician said.