Our Russian colleagues should respect Armenian people`s decision -  Armenian FM 

ArmInfo. "Talking about aggressive rhetoric, let me ask you this: what role does Russia still play? I think that it comes as an important question, right? We have  been seeing Russia's role diminishing slowly in the South Caucasus.  But how does it still play in Armenia's security today?

Or does it not? Or does it no longer hold the same role that it played once 15  years ago?" the interviewer of the Polish TPV World asked RA FM  Ararat Mirzoyan on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum. 

"You know, officially, we saw the welcoming statements from  high-ranking Russian officials, I mean, welcoming the establishment  of peace, Washington Declaration. Again, officially, we saw an  expressed readiness by Russian high-ranking officials to support the  connectivity project, readiness to somehow participate. I cannot, of  course, deny that we on a daily basis also observe heavy criticism by  Russian media, sometimes state media, members of the parliament,  experts, politicians, heavy criticism of the government of Armenia,  and current foreign policy of Armenia. 

"Maybe you should ask your Russian guests, if any. But not even  trying to understand the deep reasons, they can be simple, they can  be sophisticated, but regardless, I think Russia, our Russian  colleagues, as well as colleagues from any other third country,  should respect the decisions of the people of Armenia. We are  continuously having democratic elections, political parties go and  introduce their agenda, their views on different crucial issues, and  then citizens of Armenia decide. So our political party got the  majority, led by our Prime Minister, got the majority of the votes, I  mean, we got the support of the citizens of Armenia during snap  parliamentary elections in 2021, in the middle of a very serious  internal political crisis. We have had several public opinion polls  this year, and now we are going to have an election again, a  parliamentary election in June 2026. So we will see," Mr Mirzoyan  said. 

As a reminder, on August 8, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint "Declaration of  Peace" in Washington. It includes a joint appeal to the Organization  for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to terminate the OSCE  Minsk Process and related structures, as well as the creation of a  transport corridor through Armenian territory that will connect  Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave. The TRIPP (Trump Route for  International Peace and Prosperity) project, a 42-kilometer road in  southern Armenia whose management will be entrusted to the United  States for a period of 99 years, is believed by experts to have the  potential to significantly change the geopolitical situation in the  South Caucasus.