MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. Russia has always looked out for Armenia, unlike the West, so trying to "play both sides of the fence" is counterproductive, as evidenced by the loss of Karabakh, an Armenian public activist said.

"Historically, Russia has been the guarantor of security not only for our country, but for the entire region, because after Armenia’s liberation from Persian rule in 1828 it was Russia that formed the geopolitical system of security in our region," Mger Avetisyan, leader of the My Country - My Armenia political movement said at the 2nd Russia-Armenia Public Forum.

"The collapse of this architecture is most disadvantageous for us, the Armenians and Armenia, but for some unknown reason it is us who are trying to help the West ruin this architecture. These are absolutely the wrong politics, and must be stopped," he stated.

He recalled the words of Armenia’s first Prime Minister (1918-1919) Hovhannes Kajaznuni, who used to say that "Armenia should remain loyal to brotherly Russia and work together with it to keep the entire South Caucasus within Russia’s borders, even if it means going against its neighbors."

According to Avetisya, by "playing both sides of the fence" after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in an effort to maintain good relations with both Russia and the West, Armenia lost its territory of Karabakh.

"Political relations between Russia and the West have changed but Armenia’s political elites either didn’t or were unwilling to understand these simple realities and opted to continue their run-with-the-hare-and hunt-with-the-hounds policy. <…> This policy and the revolution (2018 Velvet Revolution in Armenia - TASS) led to most serious security problems for Armenia, including our loss of Artsakh (Armenia’s name for Nagorno-Karabakh - TASS)," he stressed.

About the forum

The 2nd Russia-Armenia Public Forum is being held in Moscow on November 29. It was organized by the My Country - My Armenia movement and Russia’s Public Chamber. The program includes discussions of the key aspects of political, economic, and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Armenia, strategic plans for the further strengthening of bilateral relations and developing new programs and projects. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the forum with a greeting message that was read out by his deputy, Mikhail Galuzin.