© Photo: Maria Novoselova/ Vestnik Kavkaza
Today, the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin recalled the puzzling difference in the number of employees of Russian and US embassies in Yerevan. Only 60 people work in the diplomatic mission of Russia, Armenia’s main ally, while 2,000 people work in the diplomatic mission of the US. He emphasized that Armenia needs to decide, is it with Russia or the West?
During the government hour, the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin pointed out the disproportion of the employees number in the Russian and US embassies in Yerevan. He asked what this says about the foreign policy of Armenia, which is officially an ally of Russia and enjoys all the benefits of the Eurasian Economic Union.
“The US embassy in Armenia has 2,000 people. How many work in our embassy? Less than 60. Think about it!” - First of all, Vyacheslav Volodin called on parliamentarians and government representatives to pay attention to the obvious difference in Yerevan's approaches to developing diplomatic contacts with Russia and the US.
Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized, while recognizing the right of other states to sovereign policy, must nevertheless firmly raise the issue with Armenia as its ally regarding compliance with allied obligations. "It is clear that this is the choice of the state. But we must tell our [Armenian] colleagues: "Do you want to receive preferences here, in Russia? Then decide: who are you with?" Colleagues, it is important to do," the Chairman of the State Duma concluded.
