News - Russian ambassador on relations with Armenia: It’s important to distinguish between good and bad

The current situation in Armenian-Russian relations is characterized by a strong emotional backdrop, but it is important to distinguish between good and bad and not to give in to these emotions. Russian ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin stated this on the air of Public Television of Armenia, as he commented on the current situation regarding Sputnik Armenia radio. On December 20, the Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia decided to suspend the broadcasting of the Sputnik Armenia radio for 30 days, and the rebroadcasting Tospa radio company was deprived of its respective license for one month. Also, it was fined 500 thousand drams. The reason for the aforesaid decision is the November 17 broadcast of the "Friday with Tigran Keosayan" program, where the author allegedly made sarcastic remarks that humiliated the honor and dignity of Armenia and its people. And the aforesaid fine is due to former MP Arman Abovyan's “Abovyan Time” program during which, according to the Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia, unreliable and unverified information was presented. Ambassador Kopyrkin emphasized that there can be emotional outbursts and statements by individuals, and there can be personal assessments that do not contribute to the recovery of Armenian-Russian bilateral relations. "However, I believe that too much importance should not be given to them, taking into account the relations between our peoples. It is necessary to clearly separate people's personal opinions, which are emotional in some sense, sometimes contain incorrect, unbalanced assessments," he said. To the remark that it is not about one person's unbalanced and blasphemous expressions, an that direct insults are being broadcast on Russian public channels, and Armenia and Armenians are called traitors, enemies, etc., the Russian ambassador responded: "When it comes to state policy, one should be guided not by the opinions of experts, journalists, but by the viewpoints being presented by the country's leadership. You will not find any example that the President of Russia, his press secretary have allowed [themselves] even some inappropriate, non-constructive qualifications towards the leadership of Armenia. I believe that, nonetheless, we should be guided by that." Kopyrkin believes that it is not an easy situation, the emotions are hyped up, and this has its own explanation: the relations between the two countries are not just interstate relations. There are certain expectations, there are stereotypes, traditions of interaction, fraternal ties, and all these factors cannot but affect the emotional backdrop. "There are certain concerns, misunderstandings; it is naturally bad. But it is a consequence of the fact that the human component is very strongly expressed in the relations. The human factor is an advantage, but sometimes in such situations it can cause such emotional outbursts. In this very controversial situation, it is very important to distinguish between good and bad. The attempts from outside to put additional complications in the relations between the two countries should not be ignored either," emphasized the Russian ambassador to Armenia.