Russian ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin has commented on negative statements about Armenia on Russian TV, in particular on Channel One.

In an interview with the Public Television of Armenia on Thursday, December 28, Kopyrkin said that when talking about state policy, it is necessary to be guided not by the opinions of experts or “even respected journalists”, but by the political position that is presented by the country’s leadership.

“I don’t think you can bring a single example where the president or his press secretary would show not even offensive, incorrect, but also unconstructive attitude towards the country’s leadership. I believe that this should be the first determining factor.”

A program titled “Nikol Pashinyan: a harbinger of trouble aired on October 23 on Russia’s state-run TV channel, Channel One. Pashinyan was declared “harbinger of trouble” in the very title of the program, reiterated during the entire 53 minutes of airtime. Russian political scientists and political experts expressed their opinion about Pashinyan and his activities. The anchor and the participants of the program used insulting, degrading language. Pashinyan was presented as a politician following the orders of the West. The Prime Minister himself and members of his team, as well as some Armenian politicians and public figures, were declared to be”Soros agents”.