Zakharova to Pashinyan: We came to defend you, Karabakh…

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has reacted extremely harshly to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest statements concerning the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

TodayPress TV, citing Musavat.com, reports that Pashinyan earlier recalled the clashes that took place on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border in September 2022, stating that Russia and the CSTO had failed to fulfill their treaty obligations toward Armenia.

Zakharova, in turn, reminded Pashinyan of the events of 2022. According to her, that year the CSTO secretary general visited Yerevan and met with Pashinyan in person. The Russian Foreign Ministry official stressed that the secretary general had come to Yerevan not to “admire the beauty of the South Caucasus,” but on a specific mission of an organization tasked with protecting the territories of its member states.

According to Zakharova, Pashinyan failed to take the necessary steps, either legally or politically, to ensure Armenia’s security.

She also recalled that in November 2022, Pashinyan refused to sign a document envisaging an agreement on the deployment of a CSTO mission in Armenia. A month earlier, in October 2022, Yerevan had recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, including Karabakh, in a statement adopted in Prague with the mediation of the European Union.

Zakharova then directly addressed Pashinyan:

“Nikol Vovayevich, if you now reach for the phone to summon the ambassador or, as you like to do, write another note of protest, think twice. Because then you will have to point out which of the things listed above is not true. Everything stated above is a historical fact. Every thesis is confirmed by your own words and your own decisions.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry official accused Pashinyan of shifting responsibility onto others:

“When you are asked uncomfortable questions, stop trying to absolve yourself of blame, shift responsibility away from yourself and place it on everyone within your reach whom you personally dislike: Moscow, the CSTO, Azerbaijan, Armenia’s previous leadership, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and now the Armenian businessmen you are actively fighting, as well as the Armenians of Karabakh, their ancestors and their children. This is brazen.”

Zakharova concluded her remarks with an even harsher statement:

“Everyone is guilty in your eyes. The only one who is innocent is you.”