BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 31. The Russian Federation condemned the desecration of the monument to the children of besieged Leningrad in Yerevan, Armenia, reports Trend.
This was made in a written statement by Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
“We strongly condemn the act of vandalism committed at the monument to the children of besieged Leningrad in Yerevan on January 29. We note with deep regret that this is not the first case of desecration of monuments dedicated to heroic pages of history common to Russia and Armenia. We see a sharp reaction of rejection of what happened on the part of the friendly Armenian people. We expect the same from the authorities of the republic, as well as the suppression of such manifestations of barbarism in the future,” she said.
“This kind of antics is facilitated by the public campaign launched in the republic to denigrate Russia and its role in the South Caucasus. We will not allow mockery of the blessed memory of 1 million, 384 thousand Leningraders who died during the siege. In connection with this egregious crime, we are interacting with relevant federal agencies, including the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, which opened a criminal case into the act of vandalism. The director of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Yerevan sent an official appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia. On the evening of January 30, the Armenian competent authorities initiated criminal proceedings,” Zakharova noted.
“We thank the caring citizens of Armenia who, at the call of their hearts, restored justice today by laying new wreaths at the monument to replace the damaged ones, as well as one carnation, symbolizing each day of the blockade. No one will be able to rewrite the common history of Russia and Armenia,” concluded Zakharova.