The chairman of the "For the Republic" party, Arman Babajanyan, wrote on his Facebook page:
"The statement of the Russian Foreign Minister, allegedly in defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is a classic example of political immorality. This "concern" voiced from the CSTO platform not only contradicts historical truth but also targets Armenia's internal sovereign processes.
It should be clearly stated that in history, it was Russia that dealt systematic and deadly blows to the Armenian Church. Tsarist Russia, from the second half of the 19th century, consistently reduced the church's sovereignty, transforming it into an administrative structure. The election of patriarchs had become a formal process carried out with the consent of Petersburg. The Holy Synod of Etchmiadzin operated under the control of the tsarist regime.
Soviet Russia continued this policy, turning it into a complete system of state repression. By 1938, more than 150 Armenian clergy were shot or exiled. Hundreds of churches were closed, destroyed, or turned into farms, warehouses, and prisons. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin was preserved only as a symbolic institution under constant KGB surveillance. The state that left behind all this legacy, to speak of "groundless persecution" of the church, is moral cynicism.
The same CSTO, from whose platform this false rhetoric is being uttered today, took no action when Azerbaijan invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia in Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Vayots Dzor. The CSTO remained silent when Armenia's border villages were bombed, when Armenian service members were killed, and when the assistance mechanism of the CSTO charter was officially activated. No troops were sent, and no political or military support was received. Today, that same structure and the state that governs it have suddenly decided to protect our church. From whom? From the citizens of Armenia, from the legitimate government of Armenia, and the publicly accountable statehood of Armenia.
The Armenian authorities must respond to all this strictly and transparently. Armenia must demand that the CSTO and its member states exclude any interference in Armenia's internal affairs. And the only practical solution to stop these interferences is for Armenia to withdraw from the CSTO. It is no longer possible to maintain membership in a structure that silently observes the violation of our country's borders but becomes active when it comes to protecting its instruments of influence.
Armenia is to blame for this situation. The half-hearted foreign policy stance, the uncertain decision to "freeze" CSTO membership, and the postponement of strategic choices are the very doors through which external interferences continuously invade. A clear, sovereign, and decisive decision is urgently needed to withdraw from the CSTO and unequivocally shift Armenia's security alliance towards the European Union, as well as France, the United States, India, Greece, Cyprus, Iran, and other reliable regional partners.
Armenia must begin to defend its state and church itself without external admonitions, without Russian lessons, without messiahs. No one can teach us how to live with faith, dignity, and law. No foreign power can dictate to us how to talk about our church, our borders, or our country.
Armenia is an independent state. And it is precisely the defense of independence that is our most significant political and moral obligation at this moment."
