RA NA speaker blasts Russian TV for “hostile broadcasts”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan, responding to Russian reactions to his recent proposal to seriously consider halting Russian TV broadcasts in Armenia, expressed surprise that none of his Russian counterparts asked the most basic question: why?

Posting on his Telegram channel, Simonyan argued that the deterioration of Armenia–Russia relations is not driven by Western intelligence agencies or NGOs, but by “certain Russian state channels, journalists, and editors.”

“Reading my Russian colleagues’ reactions, I can’t help but ask a simple but important question: has none of these respected individuals asked themselves ‘why?’” he wrote.

Simonyan rejected recycled accusations about Western influence or attacks on traditional Armenian-Russian ties, urging Russian figures to simply “turn on the television” and witness the issue firsthand.

According to him, Russian state TV networks:

• Insult Armenia’s elected government, often using indecent language;
• Systematically turn Armenian society against its own leadership, disregarding the legitimacy of democratic elections;
• Undermine Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and even its right to exist;
• Publicly promote anti-government rallies, specifying dates and locations;
• Condemn lawful actions by Armenian law enforcement;
• Interfere in Armenia’s domestic affairs, from politics to national symbols.

“I urge my colleagues in Moscow to imagine the reverse scenario,” Simonyan said, asking how Russia would react if Armenian TV hosts insulted Russian leaders, questioned its territorial integrity, aired war reports criticizing Russian forces, or scrutinized legal cases against Russian citizens.

“Yes, respected politicians, senators, broadcasters, MPs, commentators and publicists. This is what Armenian citizens see on Russian television screens every day. This—not the West, not the Armenian people or politicians—is what truly destroys Armenian-Russian relations,” he wrote.

He concluded: “So instead of clichés and witch hunts, try asking yourselves just one honest question: why? Not who. This must stop. Either you stop it, or we will.”

Speaking to reporters earlier, Simonyan emphasized the need to seriously consider cutting Russian TV access in Armenia, stating: “These propagandist, subversive programs have long been banned from Armenia, but if state channels continue to meddle in our internal affairs, perhaps it’s time to bar them from entering our citizens’ homes altogether.”