YEREVAN. Sept 6 (Interfax) - The relationship between Armenia and Russia is not tense, but Yerevan expects answers from Moscow to questions regarding the obligations it has undertaken, while the security system existing in the region does not work and therefore could be replaced by another system, Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan has said.
"I wouldn't call the situation in our relations with Russia tense. This is a situation where there are questions and no answers. The questions are the following: is Russia going to honor its obligations, which bear the Russian president's signature, or not?" Simonyan told Armenian media on Wednesday.
"I am talking about the unhindered operation of the Lachin corridor [linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh]. As many as 120,000 of our compatriots have found themselves held hostage there, while the November 9, 2020 statement [by the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan] says that the five-kilometer-wide Lachin corridor is supposed to be under the control of Russian troops. The question is whether this is the case or not today. No, it is not," Simonyan said.
Armenia wonders whether Russia is going to honor its obligations, "whether it is capable [of doing so], and what's most important, whether it is willing to," he said.
"Russia, which was supposed to defend the Karabakh people, is currently keeping them within a blockade. With its inaction, Russia is keeping Nagorno-Karabakh in a blockade. They should be honest and say that they don't have enough strength to resolve the problem. So, it's not Armenia that's making relations with Russia worse. Russia is simply walking out of our region at this time, and is trying to turn our region into a subject of speculation with Turkey to promote its own economic interests," Simonyan said.
Yerevan has only one goal: "we want security," he said.
"We have at least two very serious documents with Russia, namely the Armenian-Russian treaty [on friendship and mutual assistance] and the agreement on the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]. Be so kind as to honor your obligations. Nature abhors a vacuum. We will fill it, and it doesn't matter with whom. What counts most is that our borders must be safeguarded. Obviously, the security system that used to exist in our region is not working. People die every day," he said.