Alen Simonyan: Yerevan is ready to accept a new wave of Russians fleeing mobilization

The Armenian authorities will not obstruct Russians who try to leave for Armenia in the event of a new mobilization in Russia.

Alen Simonyan, secretary of Armenia's Security Council, said this to "Dozhd."

The channel's journalist Ekaterina Kotrikadze asked the official whether Armenia is ready to accept a new wave of Russians who want to avoid being sent to the front.

Here is what Simonyan answered:

No one at the border is going to ask anyone why they came here. As you know, people can come to us from Russia without an international passport. To a Russian person I can say only one thing: "Welcome to Armenia." Here we love everyone, we respect everyone. And here they will find everything they wanted to find by coming to Armenia. And they will return back to Russia whenever it is convenient for them. Armenia will in no way obstruct them, and if necessary, we will help.

Sources of "Meduza" and other media outlets, as well as the Ukrainian authorities, have said that mobilization could be announced in Russia after the State Duma elections.

The Kremlin calls these reports "information canards." Before the mobilization in 2022, the Kremlin also denied that it would be announced.

Amid rumors of a new mobilization, Russians have begun turning to human rights defenders more often for consultations about relocating. According to the organization "Kovcheg," they are primarily interested in Armenia and Georgia.