Zakharova: Pashinyan’s response to the EAEU report is a “third attempt to destabilize the country and strip it of its independence”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described Nikol Pashinyan’s response to a Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) report on the potential consequences of Armenia suspending its membership in the bloc as aggressive and unfounded.

Zakharova drew attention to Pashinyan’s remarks in response to the publication of the report, in which he described it as “the third attempt to destabilize the country from within and deprive it of its independence.”

“Such a reaction can be described as hasty and even aggressive on the part of Armenia’s leadership. Perhaps this is simply an attempt to divert public attention from pressing, long-standing problems by any means possible, once again shifting the blame onto someone else,” she said at a press briefing.

“Overall, this rhetoric is aggressive, emotional, and disconnected from reality. Once again, it is not directed against us so much as it misleads Armenian society and the country’s own population. Such rhetoric ignores economic realities and, moreover, disregards assessments of Armenia’s course toward joining the European Union, pursued at the expense of traditional Russian-Armenian ties,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson added.