Official Yerevan on Wednesday stepped up its criticism of Moscow, accusing the Russian government of allowing Azerbaijan to start the 2020 Artsakh War and later occupying the entire territory.
“Russia came, took Nagorno-Karabakh from our hands, gave [it] to Azerbaijan, then went back. This is the entire truth. I insist Russia took Nagorno-Karabakh,” Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan told reporters during a conference on Wednesday, in what can be seen as the most terse attack on its one-time close ally, Moscow.
“This happened when we were completely dependent on Russia,” Grigoryan said, emphasizing that the 2020 Artsakh War would not have taken place “without Russia’s permission.”
“Didn’t we have a war when Armenia was completely dependent on Russia?” asked Grigoryan. “We did.”
“Let’s go on the record and say that it is because of this existing situation that we ended up at war. We have tried to bring stability with these changes, and we are convinced that these changes will bring stability,” Grigoryan added, referring to the Armenian government’s current tilt in its foreign policy.
Russia was quick to fire back, with its foreign ministry saying that Grigoryan was betraying his own country by making such accusations
“Armenian citizens defended their territory, gave their lives, and considered this to be of historical importance,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova during a press briefing on Wednesday. She also accused Armenia’s authorities of disgracing their own citizens.
“The ideology of Armenia as a state has been built on these concepts for many years,” said Zakharova, referring to Armenians who gave their lives for their homeland.
“They [Armenians] knew why they were going to the battle, why they were sacrificing their well-being, making their wives and children widows and orphans. How can their memory be betrayed in such a cynical way,” Zakharova said.
She accused the Armenian authorities of being governed “from outside, and thus insulting their own people.”
“It’s astonishing to me how people can treat the historical memory of their long-suffering nation in such a humiliating way,” Zakharova added.
Grigory Karasin, a prominent Russian lawmaker who chairs the foreign affairs committee of the Russian Federation Council, also blasted the latest statements from Yerevan, saying Grigoryan’s assertions are “untrue.”
“This is absolutely not true,” Karasin said, adding that Grigoryan should “familiarize himself with the statements of Armenian politicians on this matter,” the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Official Baku also took note of Grigoryan’s statements.
“The statements by the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia seek to cover up the guilt of the previous and current military-political leadership of that country, blaming it on others to justify themselves,” Hikmet Hajiev, an adviser to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said,
“It is painful that we have to go on record to say that such statements are a reflection of the retaliatory mentality of the military and political leadership of Armenia,” Hajiyev added.