Russian diplomat refutes PM Pashinyan's claims linking KGB with "Armenian genocide"

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reminded Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that the KGB was established nearly 40 years after "the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire."

Zakharova made the statement on her Telegram channel in response to Pashinyan reportedly blaming the KGB for historical tensions between Turks and Armenians.

“The KGB was created in 1954. The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire began in 1915, almost 40 years before the creation of the KGB,” Zakharova said.

During a public address in Yerevan on October 31, 2025, Pashinyan allegedly suggested that Soviet-era policies — including KGB operations — had deliberately deepened the Turkish-Armenian divide to serve Moscow’s geopolitical interests. He reportedly framed this as part of a broader critique of Russian influence, tying it to Armenia’s recent moves to freeze CSTO membership and seek EU/NATO partnerships.