The relations between Russia and Armenia have a rather full agenda and a long history hinged on all the principles of allied ties, and they are expressed in practice. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan declared in parliament today, responding to questions about why Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov made his statement on the phased settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict now.

According to Mnatsakanyan, the relations concern several sectors, starting from security and ending with education and culture. Mnatsakanyan also declared that the relations with Russia have been and remain one of the major directions of Armenia’s foreign policy.

“We continue to work with our Russian colleagues with that spirit. The last time we touched upon these issues was two days ago. It’s obvious that both Russia and Armenia have many questions, but there is no need to dramatize all the time,” Mnatsakanyan said. In response, deputy of the Bright Armenia Party Arkady Khachatryan declared that he highly appreciates the minister’s diplomatic response and said the following: “Nobody is questioning the strategic relations between Russia and Armenia, but do the messages in Lavrov’s statement really need to be discussed in parliament and to whom are they addressed?”

In response, the minister said there can be a long analysis of the messages and the addressees. “As far as I remember, an Azerbaijani source had asked the question, and the response was given to the Azerbaijani source,” Mnatsakanyan noted.