By Vestnik Kavkaza
A soldier of the 102nd military base in Gyumri, Valery Permyakov, has admitted he is guilty of the murder of the Avetisyan family. The murders caused massive riots in the city. Demonstrators demanded that the soldier should be judged in Armenia; some urged the withdrawal of the Russian base from Armenia. Even though, in the end, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin and the President of Armenia Serge Sragsyan agreed that the investigation of the murder will be provided by both sides, while the trial will take place in Armenia, attempts at politicization of the situation haven’t stopped.
At his annual concluding press conference, Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, confirmed “deep condolences about the awful crime.”
“Yesterday six-month-old Sergei died (the only one who survived in the tragedy). I telephoned my colleague Edward Nalbandyan and expressed our sad feelings once again. It is important that the criminal, the defendant, is detained. He has already admitted his guilt. Our presidents talked on the phone. The head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, went to Yerevan yesterday. He met the President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan.”
Lavrov confirmed that the trial will take place in Armenia: “It will be maximally transparent and joint. I am sure that the court will hand down an objective and appropriate sentence, it will be appropriate to the awful crime.”
“Speaking about the general context of our relations, they say black sheep occur in all families. And that is the attitude of all soldiers and officers of our military base in Armenia today. I won’t set examples when people go mad for unknown reasons in different situations and different countries – there are many examples – and commit outrages.
We can see attempts at a politicization of the situation. They don’t come from the Armenian or Russian authorities. There are many forces which want to benefit from the tragedy, fulfil their geopolitical interests. Russian-Armenian relations mean an alliance and strategic partnership. I am sure they won’t be damaged,” Lavrov stated.
