YEREVAN, June 24 /TASS/. About 4,000 people have gathered outside the House of Writers on Marshal Bagramyan prospect in central Yerevan to protest against high electricity bills, an Armenian police source told TASS.
The protesters were joined by people who had organized a rally on the Opera Square and later marched through the city streets to join the picketers at the House of Writers. The demonstrators are demanding the release of a fellow-protester whom police detained earlier on Wednesday.
Russia hopes that Armenian protesters will reach a compromise with the authorities, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Wednesday.
"We have been closely watching the recent events in Armenia. We hope that they will remain in legal boundaries," he said.
"We hope for the good sense and wisdom of the Armenian leadership. Judging from what we know, we believe that a compromise solution on the protesters’ demands can be found," Karasin stressed.
"We hope the solution will reciprocally suit the interests of the demonstrators and the authorities. We are waiting for news from Yerevan," Karasin noted.
Asked whether the situation in Armenia could be provoked from abroad, the deputy minister answered that it should be proven. "We will carefully study all facts that had preceded those events but I would not make such snap judgements," he added.