Maria Zakharova: Moscow strongly condemns seizure of police HQ in Yerevan

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, answering a question about an impact of the seizure of the police building in Yerevan's Erebuni district on the diplomatic process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement, said that Moscow condemns this act of aggression carried out by the representatives of the Founding Parliament opposition group.

"We think that the seizure of the police station is deplorable. Such crimes pose a serious threat to the security of Armenia’s citizens," she said.

"We support the authorities’ measures and hope that it will lead to the release of the hostages, followed by a thorough investigation, which would bring those who are guilty to justice," TASS quoted her as saying.

"We believe that the efforts which are currently being undertaken on the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, including by Russia, is a very intense process, it will not lose its momentum. We hope that these efforts will really help it to move forward. There is no doubt that the situation in each country is developing, but we believe that the process of peaceful settlement and the momentum that we have should not stop," she concluded.

Evaluating recent events in Turkey and Armenia in the context of the settlement process, Maria Zakharova expressed an opinion that they will not have a serious impact on the peace process. "However, without a doubt, Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is connected to the processes that are currently taking place in Azerbaijan and Armenia," she said.

Recall that earlier, Hovik Abrahamyan, Armenia’s prime minister, said during the meeting with ministers at a routine Cabinet session that the hostage standoff and relating developments in Yerevan cause concern. 

In his words, the authorities will make every effort to settle the matter. He expressed condolences to the family and friends of Arthur Vanoyan, the colonel killed in the Sunday attack. He finds it unacceptable what happened in the police regiment on Sunday. In his opinion, it is impossible to reach real changes by using violence, ARKA news agency reported.