Russian Ambassador to Armenia: “Russia counts on allies; West will put pressure on them too”

“Today there is pressure against Russia, the war is not only economic, but also political. It is aimed at continuing to maintain the hegemony of the United States and is at the heart of the situation that the whole world is facing.” This was announced during a round table in Yerevan on the topic “Opportunities and prospects for the development of the EAEU after the declaration by the collective West of an economic war on Russia,” said Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin.

Russia has always opposed and continues to oppose any kind of hegemony, for the development of relations on the principles of mutual benefit, but, unfortunately, such a line was not adopted by our Western partners, the head of the diplomatic mission noted.

“As a result, we have the current situation. A political and economic war is developing against Russia and is a catalyst for those changes in the world that are long overdue, which run counter to the American model of hegemony and create long overdue prerequisites for very serious changes,” the Russian diplomat stated.

Kopirkin recalled that the creation of the EAEU almost coincided with the first anti-Russian sanctions from the West. Then there was the pandemic of the coronavirus infection Covid-19, but, despite all the problems, the countries of the Eurasian integration association continued to develop and showed the effectiveness of their economic union.

“The current sanctions are unprecedented in their scope. But the situation should encourage us to accelerate the integration within the framework of a large Eurasian partnership, as President Vladimir Putin spoke about,” the ambassador stressed.

Russia is well aware that the line to isolate Moscow will be pursued by the collective West and by putting pressure on its allies, including among the EAEU countries, the diplomat said. “We expect that the commonality of our interests, our economic interconnection will dictate the understanding that we need to stay together, develop together. Based on the current situation, I think that by joint efforts we will be able to overcome everything and even become stronger. I am sure that the necessary solutions will be found in all areas,” summed up Kopirkin.

U.S. Embassy in Yerevan urged Azerbaijan to free all Armenian detainees 

The United States Embassy in Armenia asked for the release of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan. The request was made at a meeting with relatives of Armenian troops detained in 2020 and 2021 on March 29 by US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy.

Azerbaijani courts have handed out lengthy terms to some of them, while the fates of others is unknown. The talk centered on human rights problems, such as point eight of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia's November 2020 trilateral ceasefire agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war, hostages, and other detained individuals, as well as human remains, and the Geneva Convention.

“We call for the release of all prisoners, as well as increased efforts to learn more about the fate of missing service members, including those from the 1990s, noting the anguish of families who don't know where their loved ones are or what happened to them,” the Embassy said in a press release posted on its official Facebook page.