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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday that Armenia has no plans to introduce a visa regime for Russian citizens and has never considered such a measure.
Speaking at a press briefing, Pashinyan was asked to comment on Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s latest statement that Armenia would first and foremost be harming itself if it decided to introduce a visa regime for Russian citizens.
Asked why Moscow would suddenly be making such a statement and whether Pashinyan’s government is considering such a measure, Pashinyan said:
“Who has discussed such a thing? We absolutely have neither the intention to do anything like that nor have we ever had such an intention, nor has anything like that ever crossed our minds.
“On the contrary, we are very happy to welcome tourists coming from Russia, and we see that they have now become very active in promoting Armenia’s tourism advantages. The public in Armenia also welcomes these people with great pleasure and affection, and they themselves do not seem to feel bad in Armenia. We are happy about this, just as we are, of course, when it comes to tourists coming from other countries.
“Such a thing has never even crossed our minds. We have no reason to do so.”