YEREVAN, December 7 The issue of shutting down Russian TV channels is not currently being discussed in Armenia, Robert Khachatryan, Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic, told reporters on Thursday.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia Avet Poghosyan announced the holding of Armenian-Russian consultations regarding the broadcasting of Russian TV channels in the country. He added that the Russian side accepted the proposal, and consultations are planned for mid-December on “the issue of violations of the clauses of the interstate agreement in the field of mass telecommunications between Armenia and Russia,” as well as on the implementation of the obligations reached within the framework of the agreement.
“The issue of closing (TV channels — ed.) is not being discussed now. Everything depends on the progress of the consultations that will take place in Yerevan,” Khachatryan said, answering the question whether the possibility of shutting down Russian TV channels is being considered. He clarified that he did not want to comment on this topic before meetings with the Russian side.
“The date and time of the Armenian-Russian consultations have not yet been specified. We must meet and discuss everything in detail,” the minister said, adding that all violations have been recorded.
At the end of November, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that the Armenian side requested consultations with the Russian Federation due to problems recorded during the broadcast of Russian TV channels in the republic. According to Pashinyan, an intergovernmental agreement was signed between Yerevan and Moscow regulating the broadcasting of Russian TV channels in Armenia and Armenian channels in the Russian Federation. He added that this agreement excludes interference in each other's internal affairs and steps to destabilize the internal political situation. Pashinyan clarified that the Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia and the Ministry of High-Technological Industry identified certain problems that violate the agreement, and “taking into account the friendly relations between Armenia and Russia, the Ministry of High-Technological Industry sent an official letter to the Russian side, requesting consultations.”
At the end of October, Khachatryan accused Russian television channels broadcasting in Armenia of “certain violations,” while specifically naming only one episode. Prior to this, the Armenian Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the Russian Ambassador in Yerevan because of a television program that aired on October 23 on the Russian First Channel, in which, according to the Armenian department, “offensive and completely unacceptable statements were voiced against high-ranking officials of the Republic of Armenia.”
In Armenia, the Russian Channel One, RTR Planeta, Russia. Culture and the interstate TV channel Mir are broadcast through a public multiplex.