Moscow accuses US embassy of funding anti-Russian protests in Armenia

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused the US Embassy in Armenia of undermining Russian-Armenian relations by allegedly supporting anti-Russian protests in Yerevan.

Speaking at a press briefing, Zakharova criticised the display of anti-Russian posters in the Armenian capital on the eve of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s official visit on May 20. Anti-Putin banners and other signs condemning the Russian leadership were seen throughout the city, including on the Kyiv Bridge.

“The US Embassy has failed to grasp that it is necessary to deal with strengthening for example Russian-American relations, not undermining Russian-Armenian relations,” she said at the briefing.

Zakharova claimed the protest campaign was “paid and practised” and suggested that some of the US Embassy’s approximately 2,000 staff members may have “not yet run out of money transferred through USAID, so they spend it on such projects.”

"We have an extensive agenda with Armenia on all tracks for not only discussion, but concrete applied pragmatic work. And we also know that many minorities do not like it. That is why we are oriented towards a constructive, positive agenda. And all of this, once again I say, the nature of it is clear," she summarised.

By Sabina Mammadli