Russia MFA spox accuses Armenia parliament speaker of inattentiveness, incompetence

The president of the parliament of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, is inattentively following the statements of the prime minister of his country, talking about the review of the necessity of deploying Russian troops on the border with Iran and Turkey. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stated this at Wednesday’s press briefing—and commenting on Armenian National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan’s statement that the Armenian authorities should think about the need for the Russian border guards in Armenia to stay on the country’s border with Turkey and Iran.

Zakharova noted that the main document regulating the status of the Russian border guard troops in Armenia is open-ended.

“For more than 30 years, Russian border guards have been guarding the borders of the Republic of Armenia and have repeatedly confirmed the relevance of their presence; in particular, preventing illegal border crossings and illegal drug trafficking,” said Zakharova, noting that the removal of Russian border guards from Armenia will have a negative impact on the country’s security.

Zakharova added that the speaker of the Armenian parliament is not competent enough to discuss such matters. According to her, in this matter, one should listen to those who really guard the border of Armenia, not those who sit on soft chairs.