The Armenian authorities suspended broadcasting of the First Russian Channel. The formal reason was the debt to the Armenian television and radio broadcasting network. As the country's Minister of High-Technological Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan noted, the Russian partners did not fulfill their contractual obligations, accumulating a 2.5-month debt.
In March, Armenian authorities blocked the broadcast of two programs by pro-Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. Yerevan explained that this decision was made “based on facts of constant violations.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously said that in Russia, Armenian citizens were called to take to the streets and overthrow the government. In addition, according to him, Russian television channels have been conducting systematic propaganda against the Armenian government and him personally for several years. Also, Armenia actually refused to participate in the pro-Russian military-political bloc CSTO and expressed a desire to become a candidate for membership in the European Union.
