Media: Yerevan accuses Moscow of involvement in recent shopping centre explosion

The Russian Embassy in Armenia has issued a statement strongly condemning the rumours and comments circulating in the Armenian media that Russian agencies were involved in the explosion in the Surmalu shopping centre in Yerevan.

“We are outraged by the cynical stuffing, exaggerated in the local information space, containing blasphemous and false accusations against Russian agencies of involvement in the incident that took place on August 1 year on the territory of the shopping centre ‘Surmalu’,” Caliber.Az quotes the embassy’s Telegram post as saying.

“We regard this as a direct provocation on the part of the political forces behind such insinuations, aimed at undermining Russian-Armenian allied relations. We expect steps from the Armenian authorities aimed at suppressing such unfriendly manifestations, including the necessary public comments.”

The corresponding note was also sent by the embassy to the Foreign Ministry of Armenia.

“The Russian side, represented by the Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Response Center, has been involved in the work to eliminate the consequences of the tragedy from the first minutes,” the statement adds.