Armenia has yet to explain its ban on entry of Russian MP, broadcaster - envoy

Armenia has not yet explained the ban on the entry into Armenia of Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin and RT and Sputnik editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.

Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin made the remarks in an interview with the Armenian media, Caliber.Az reports.

"We have officially requested clarification on this situation. There is no answer yet," the ambassador said.

Earlier, the first deputy of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, pro-Armenian activist Konstantin Zatulin, stated that he had received a letter to the State Duma deputy's official e-mail about the unsuitability of his arrival in Armenia, signed by the head of the Parliament's Department of External Relations, Tigran Seyranyan.
The reason given was statements directed against Armenia that are harmful to the development of friendly and allied relations with Russia.

Following that, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia Today, stated that she, too, was denied entry into Armenia.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that the ministry took such messages with bewilderment. According to her, Moscow has applied through diplomatic channels for confirmation and clarification on this issue. According to her, if confirmed, Moscow will consider this step unfriendly and not in line with allied relations.