Opposition politician slams Pashinyan’s statement on Russian military bases in Armenia
Opposition politician Eduard Sharmazanov, deputy chair of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), has denounced Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest statement on Russian military bases in Armenia.
Pashinyan told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an interview published on Wednesday that Armenia sees no advantage in continuing to host Russian military bases on its territory after Azerbaijan seized Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The withdrawal of Russian military bases would amount to a betrayal of Armenia's state interests,” Sharmazanov wrote on Facebook, calling it “yet another foolish statement” by Pashinyan.
He insisted that a shift away from Russia “poses major threats” to Armenia.
“100 years ago we rejected alliance with Russia and turned to the West. Moreover, there were politicians who claimed that the Turks were the defenders of the Caucasus peoples against Russia. At the time the Turks occupied half of Armenia and the West didn't give a damn about it. Nikol is foolishly repeating the same mistake,” he stated.