Deputy Foreign Minister: Russia expects Armenia to find courage to resist blackmail and pressure from US

Baku. 19 December. REPORT.AZ/ Moscow expects that the new leadership of Armenia will find the courage to resist blackmail and pressure from the United States, and will make its own decisions,  State Secretary, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigory Karasin said.

"Against the background of the radical changes taking place in the country this year, Washington’s interference in its (Armenia's - Ed.) domestic and foreign affairs is growing even more unceremonious," Karasin said.

According to the diplomat, John Bolton, US presidential adviser on national security issues, who visited Yerevan in October, ordered Armenia to buy American weapons and join anti-Iran sanctions as soon as possible. “If this is the open side of the US-Armenian relations, then we can only imagine what kind of 'arm-twisting' is taking place behind the scenes,” Karasin noted. "We hope that the current leadership of Armenia, which received the necessary mandate at the parliamentary elections, will find the courage to stand up to outright external blackmail and pressure, will defend the sovereign right to make decisions independently, in line with national interests," the deputy foreign minister said.

Early parliamentary elections were held  in Armenia on December 9. The bloc 'My Step' of acting Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan won 70.45% of the vote, and the former ruling Republican Party did not pass the barrier.