Latest news with #AlenSimonyan
OC Media
02-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Simonyan suggests possible ban of Russian TV broadcasts
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan has told reporters that the government should 'seriously discuss' banning the broadcast of Russian TV channels in Armenia. Simonyan made his statements on Tuesday in response to recent commentary featured on Russian state broadcasters regarding the ongoing dispute between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church. On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the dispute an internal affair of Armenia, but added that the 'attacks on the canonical thousand-year-old Armenian Apostolic Church are a matter of grave concern'. In response, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan urged Lavrov 'to refrain from interfering in Armenia's domestic affairs and internal politics'. Separately, on Tuesday, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russian state-run media outlet RT and one of the country's most well-known propagandists, called Pashinyan the 'antichrist's anus'. 'If there are channels that allow themselves to interfere in Armenia's domestic affairs, perhaps we ought to respond likewise, by at least banning their entry into the homes of our society', Alen Simonyan said in his response on Tuesday. During the briefing, Simonyan also implied that 'some people' could be trying to interfere in Armenian domestic affairs using funding provided by Armenian–Russian businessperson Samvel Karapetyan. Advertisement In mid-June, Karapetyan was placed in pre-trial detention on charges of calling for the usurpation of power in Armenia. This follows remarks he had made in support of the church amidst ongoing tensions between the government and the church. At the time, Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov called the Armenian government 'corrupt, vile, worthless' and accused it of betraying 'the history of Armenia'. He also called Pashinyan 'Turkol' — a portmanteau of his first name, Nikol, and Turk — as an insult. The statements were made on his TV programme, aired on Russia 1. In response, Alen Simonyan criticised the commentary, stating that 'such outbursts on a state TV channel cause serious damage to the relations between our countries, and only elicit deep disgust among the population of Armenia'. In a follow-up post on X Tuesday evening, Simonyan, writing in Russian, addressed the Russian reactions to his statement, criticising their focus on 'Western influence' and 'human rights violations'. 'There is no need to invent culprits: it is enough to simply turn on the TV. Because the ones who cope best with the 'task of ruining Russian–Armenian relations' are not Western special services, not mythical agents, and not NGOs, but some Russian state TV channels, journalists, and editors', Simonyan wrote. He continued by listing how Russian TV channels insult Armenian authorities, including sometimes with 'outright obscenities', question the 'sovereignty, independence and even the very existence of the Republic of Armenia', 'openly condemn the actions of Armenian law enforcement officers who are enforcing the law of their country', and interfere in 'all aspects' of Armenia's internal affairs, questioning whether Moscow would allow the same. 'This is what is really destroying Russian–Armenian relations — not the West and certainly not the Armenian people or politicians. So instead of routine cliches and witch hunts, try to finally ask yourself one single, but honest question: Why?', Simonyan questioned. 'This must stop. Either you stop it — or we will', he concluded. This is not the first time Armenia has taken umbrage with Russian broadcasting. In March 2024, Yerevan banned the retransmission of Solovyov's daily talk show due to his repeated criticism of Pashinyan. Two months later, in May 2024, Pashinyan threatened to ban all Russian broadcasters if they did not respect 'state order' and national interests.
News.com.au
20-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Armenia PM arrives in Turkey for 'historic' visit
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Istanbul Friday for a rare visit to arch-foe Turkey, in what Yerevan has described as a "historic" step toward regional peace. Armenia and Turkey have never established formal diplomatic ties, and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Turkey on a working visit," his spokeswoman Nazeli Baghdasaryan said on Facebook. The visit follows an invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom Pashinyan is scheduled to meet at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace at 1500 GMT, Erdogan's office said. Relations between the two nations have been historically strained over the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire -- atrocities Yerevan says amount to genocide. Turkey rejects the label. Ankara has also backed its close ally, Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan, in its long-running conflict with Armenia. "This is a historic visit, as it will be the first time a head of the Republic of Armenia visits Turkey at this level. All regional issues will be discussed," Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters. "The risks of war (with Azerbaijan) are currently minimal, and we must work to neutralise them. Pashinyan's visit to Turkey is a step in that direction." An Armenian foreign ministry official told AFP the pair will discuss efforts to sign a comprehensive peace treaty as well as the regional fallout from the Iran-Israel conflict. On Thursday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was in Turkey for talks with Erdogan and praised the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance as "a significant factor, not only regionally but also globally." And Erdogan repeated his backing for "the establishment of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia". Baku and Yerevan agreed on the text of a peace deal in March, but Baku has since outlined a host of demands -- including changes to Armenia's constitution -- before it will sign the document. - Normalisation - Pashinyan has actively sought to normalise relations with both Baku and Ankara. Earlier this year, he announced Armenia would halt its campaign for international recognition of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide -- a major concession to Turkey that sparked widespread criticism at home. Pashinyan has visited Turkey only once before, for Erdogan's inauguration in 2023. At the time he was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate the Turkish president on his re-election. Ankara and Yerevan appointed special envoys in late 2021 to lead a normalisation process, a year after Armenia's defeat in a war with Azerbaijan over then then-disputed Karabakh region. In 2022, Turkey and Armenia resumed commercial flights after a two-year pause. A previous attempt to normalise relations -- a 2009 accord to open the border -- was never ratified by Armenia and was abandoned in 2018. mkh-im/burs-hmw/ach
