Either partners respecting each other or this partnership needs  revising - Armenian FM

ArmInfo.  Russian media, members of the Russian parliament, politicians, and experts do, from time to time, harshly criticize Armenia, its government, its sovereign decisions, and even individuals, including Armenia's  leaders. This, of course, exacerbates the misunderstanding and  discord between Armenia and Russia. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat  Mirzoyan expressed a similar opinion in an interview with DW.

He noted that the Armenian side had drawn the attention of its  Russian counterparts to these propaganda attacks, but their response  was unsatisfactory. In this regard, Mirzoyan emphasized that  democracy is Armenia's sovereign decision; it is its choice. The  minister also noted that Armenia is deepening relations with its  strategic partners-the EU and the United States. "So, either normal  partners respect each other or each other's decisions, or this  partnership needs to be renewed," the minister emphasized.

In response to the interviewer's remark that Russia has significant  tools to pressure Armenia and a direct question about whether our  country fears Russia, Mirzoyan noted that Russia is one of Armenia's  main economic and trade partners, but Armenia is diversifying  virtually everything, including trade, the economy, the supply  market, etc.

The minister also said that there are political forces in Armenia  that insist that the government become "pro-Russian." However,  according to the Foreign Minister, such issues should be decided by  the citizens of Armenia. "The people have the opportunity to decide  the fate of the country themselves-elections. Our political party  received the majority of votes. We received popular support in the  2021 elections after a serious domestic political crisis, when  several public opinion polls were conducted. Our prime minister said  that democracy and deepening relations with the EU are his personal  priorities and the program of our political party. Since we are now  the government, we will implement this program. If people disagree  and cannot wait for the next elections, they can take to the streets,  organize protests, and stage a revolution. We are not artificially  hindering this. As you can see, the revolution has not occurred,  which means the tacit support of our program from the population, our  citizens. And if that is not enough, then next summer we will have  parliamentary elections. Therefore, everyone around the world must  respect the voice and decisions of our citizens," Mirzoyan stated.

When asked whether the ruling party is preparing for external  interference, including from Russia, during Armenia's upcoming  elections, the minister noted that they have been living in this  atmosphere for several years. "Therefore, we know how this machine  works. We have seen numerous attempts at interference from external  players, including from the country you mentioned. These attempts  will likely escalate. We have already mentioned that Russian media  outlets are harshly criticizing the Armenian government, democracy,  and so on. We believe this may intensify in the coming months, but  what is, is," he concluded.