Pashinyan: Armenian protests have no geopolitical context

Armenian protests have no geopolitical context at all, they are not against Russia, it is purely domestic, opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan said following his meeting with Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin.

During the meeting, Russia promised not to interfere in the course of events in Armenia, while Pashinyan assured the Russian ambassador that there was no hint of anti-Russian sentiments in his movement.

"This isn’t a movement against Russia, or against the United States or the European Union or Iran or Georgia," Pashinyan said in an interview with Russia’s RBC newspaper published Thursday. "This is a movement against corruption, a movement against ineffective rule and it’s a purely domestic Armenian movement." 

The politician added that the sides discussed a lot of issues, particularly, the situation in Armenia and its further development. "We discussed how Russia can understand the situation and how Russia can help resolve this situation," News.am cited Pashinyan as saying.

According to him, the sides also touched upon Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.