Russian State TV Host Calls for Possible Military Action Against Armenia

A leading host on Russian state television has openly suggested that Russia could carry out a military intervention in Armenia, using language similar to that employed to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

During a broadcast on Sunday, Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov spoke about Armenia in strongly hostile terms. He said that events in Armenia were more important to Russia than developments in other parts of the world. “For us, the developments in Armenia are far more painful than those in Venezuela. Losing Armenia is a huge problem,” Solovyov said. He added that Russia should stop following international rules, stating, “We should get our goals straight. The time for games is over. To hell with international law and the global order.”

Solovyov also said that if Russia justified launching a “special military operation” in Ukraine on security grounds, it could apply the same logic elsewhere. The term “special military operation” is the language used by Russian officials and pro-government media to describe Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

There was no immediate reaction from Armenia’s government or its foreign ministry following the broadcast.

Solovyov is a daily political talk show host on Russian state television and also runs his own TV channel. His comments represent some of the most direct public calls for intervention in Armenia to appear on Russian state media in recent years.

This was not the first time Solovyov has used aggressive rhetoric toward Armenia. In June of last year, he attacked Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Russian public television, calling him “Turkol” and warning that Armenia “might cease to exist as an independent country.”

After the broadcast, Armenia’s government announced plans to introduce legislative and technical measures to block Russian state propaganda in Armenia’s media space. Armenia and Russia are bound by a bilateral agreement that requires both sides to prevent and refrain from hate speech and hostile rhetoric against each other on public television. Under this agreement, three Russian state TV channels are broadcast in Armenia on free-to-air television. The agreement was last renewed in 2021.

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