Disagreements between Armenia and Russia are intensifying. Speaking at the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the EU Member States on 22 April, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alain Simonyan, declared Yerevan's strong support for the 'territorial integrity of Ukraine' and described the military actions on Ukrainian territory as 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine'. By doing so, Armenia not only completely distanced itself from its "ally", but also made it clear that it is on the side of Russia's opponents in the global geopolitical confrontation.

"Armenia resolutely defends the territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as Moldova, Georgia, Cyprus and all other countries," said Alen Simonyan. However, he did not specify what the battalion named after Bagramyan and its fighters were doing. The Bagramyan battalion and fighters from Armenia were in Abkhazia, fighting against Georgia, and why Armenia for years regularly voted against the return of Georgian refugees to Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region at the UN General Assembly. And why all the Armenian settlers in Abkhazia, many of whom have illegally occupied the houses and apartments of murdered and displaced Georgians, are unequivocally opposed to the restoration of Georgia's territorial integrity.

Alen Simonyan managed to "add" anti-Azerbaijani attacks to his anti-Russian statements: "Russia is organising a campaign of threats and disinformation. It is worrying that many officials of the Russian government dare to dictate Armenia's interests and speak on behalf of the Armenian people. A vivid example of this is the hybrid attack by Russia and Azerbaijan on Armenia in connection with the trilateral meeting held in Brussels on 5 April, which was attended by the Armenian Prime Minister, the President of the European Commission and the US Secretary of State," said Alen Simonyan. This means that from now on the "allies" are not Russia and Armenia, but Russia and Azerbaijan.

Russia reacted negatively to Simonyan's statement. Moreover, after Alen Simonyan's anti-Russian statements, it was officially announced that another high-ranking official from Yerevan, Secretary of the Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan, will not participate in the international security meeting in Russia, which will be held in St. Petersburg from 23 to 25 April 2024.

In Moscow, the speaker of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, instructed senators to prepare and send an inquiry to the Armenian parliament in connection with the "anti-Russian statements" made by speaker Alen Simonyan:

"I would like to ask my colleague, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, a question: in whose name did he make such statements? Certainly not on behalf of the Armenian people, with whom Russia is bound by centuries of friendship. We cannot let such Russophobic speeches go unnoticed. I would send a written inquiry to the Armenian parliament on whose behalf he spoke and whether the Armenian parliament shares the assessments expressed at that meeting," said Valentina Matvienko, expressing the hope that the Armenian parliament would also ask the speaker "who gave him the right to make such passages on behalf of Armenia and would also give an assessment".

"We will not let such Russophobic, anti-Russian speeches go unnoticed. It was simply shameful for our colleague that he had already crossed all the red lines," Matvienko said.

However, restoring Russian influence in the Republic of Armenia with statements and petitions to the Armenian parliament is no longer possible. The Armenian nationalists have found a new "master and patron" - France.

It is not by chance that the authorities in Yerevan have decided to radically rethink their position on the conflict in Ukraine. Having decided that Russia is losing its position in the South Caucasus, they want to become a "regional Ukraine" themselves to receive much more Western military aid than Armenia already receives from France.

The Armenian nationalists are even prepared to go to war with Russia - just to get more weapons from the West. The fact that the US House of Representatives voted in favour of a bill allocating some $61 billion for purposes directly or indirectly related to support for Ukraine has inspired many in Armenia. In the event of a "big war" in the South Caucasus, they are counting on comparable amounts of American aid to Armenia.

Well, 12 years ago, a war between Russia and Ukraine seemed to many people to be something unbelievable and out of the realm of fantasy. And the Armenian nationalists are already seriously considering taking part in a war against Russia. There is no trace of the former "brotherhood" and even less of the "gratitude" to Russia and Russians for all they have done for Armenia and the Armenian ethnos.

Grigol Giorgadze