The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has denied the publication of The Insider periodical regarding Russian interference in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia, spying activities by Russian diplomats in Armenia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement stressing that the publication is false and called The Insider a “foreign agent that carries out the orders of its foreign curators”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that “this publication is a provocation aimed at exerting psychological pressure on Russian diplomats and instilling fear in Armenian society before the elections.”

The statement states that the authors of the publication made many factual errors and inaccuracies in presenting the biographical data of the representatives of the Russian diplomatic mission.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the screenshots published by The Insider are not reliable, stressing that the periodical could not present any convincing facts to confirm the reliability of the publication.

On May 19, The Insider published an extensive article about the possible influence of Russia in the parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia on June 7, the coordination of the work carried out in the direction of Armenia in the administration of the President of the Russian Federation, and the officials sent to Yerevan.

“After the recent failures in Moldova and Hungary, the Kremlin directed its resources to Armenia, where parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 7. The Kremlin is hoping to prevent incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Pact party from winning after he began deepening ties with the European Union and the United States. The Insider has revealed who coordinates the Armenian direction in the administration of the Russian president, which officers of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the General Intelligence Department (ГРУ) and the Federal Security Service (ФСБ) were sent to Yerevan and how the Armenian opposition candidates are connected with the special services of Russia,” the newspaper wrote, noting that the first and second secretaries of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, as well as the representative of Rosatom in Armenia, are also involved in the process.

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