Russia summons Armenia's ambassador to protest Yerevan's 'unfriendly' steps

By Emre Gurkan Abay

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia summoned the ambassador of long-time ally Armenia on Friday and handed him a diplomatic note about a series of "unfriendly" steps, including Yerevan's joint military exercises with the US, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry gave Armenian Ambassador to Moscow Vagharshak Harutiunyan a list of these unfriendly steps, including Yerevan's decision to join the International Criminal Court and conduct on its territory a joint military exercise with the US, as well as delivery of humanitarian aid during Armenian prime minister’s wife visit to Ukraine.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin expressed concern about the Armenian Defense Ministry's announcement that the US military will participate in EaglePartner 2023 military drills in the country from Sept. 11 to 20.

The Foreign Ministry statement also decried the "offensive statements" allegedly made by Alen Simonyan, chair of the Armenian National Assembly, on Sept. 6 about Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Russian-Armenian ties have worsened since pro-Western politician Nikol Pashinyan came to power as a result of a coup in 2018.

Pashinyan and his Cabinet blame Russia for Armenia's defeat in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan, which lasted 44 days.

Moscow refers to the internationally-recognized status of the Karabakh region as Azerbaijan's territory, meaning no one attacked Armenia and there was no reason to interfere.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara