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Protesters in Yerevan demonstrate no aggression against Russians — embassy

According to Guchkov, the situation is staying "within the framework of law"

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. The situation in Yerevan amid the protests linked with another escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh is tense but no aggressions is demonstrated by the protesters against Russians, spokesman for the Russian embassy in Armenia Alexander Guchkov said on Tuesday.

"The situation is rather tense, but, in all fairness in should be noted that the protesters are showing no open aggression," he said in an interview with the Soloviov Live television channel.

According to Guchkov, the situation is staying "within the framework of law."

He stressed that Armenia is a friendly country to Russia. "The peoples of Russia and Armenia are linked by centuries-long history, a tight network of various ties and contacts and I don’t think that they can be severed overnight," he added.

He also said that the embassy has no information about Russians injured during the protests. "At least, we have received no such reports," he noted.

The Russian embassy in Yerevan told TASS earlier in the day that the embassy building had been totally blocked by the protesters and it had issued a note to the Armenian foreign ministry asking it to take measures.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." Residents of the Armenian capital took to the streets to protest outside the Armenian government building, blaming the country’s leadership and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the situation.