RT editor-in-chief, propagandist Margarita Simonyan said that the Armenian authorities forbade her from entering the country. She spoke about this in her Telegram channel when she spoke about the same restriction for State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin.
“Konstantin Zatulin, who has been fiercely supporting Armenia for many years, was banned from entering Armenia by the current head of Armenia. By the way, me too. There is a beauty, what else can I say, ”she wrote.
Simonyan did not name the reasons for such a decision by the Armenian authorities. When exactly she was denied entry, she also did not specify.
Zatulin announced the ban on October 25. He received a letter about the “undesirability” of his arrival in Armenia, which states that the recent public statements of the deputy against Armenia “are detrimental to the development of friendly and allied relations between the two states.” The Armenian media wrote that Zatulin was recognized as "undesirable" because he publicly "blamed the Armenian authorities for the defeat during the 44-day war" in Nagorno-Karabakh many times.
Simonyan, with her statements, has also repeatedly provoked a sharp reaction from the Armenian authorities. In the summer of 2020, when another conflict was unfolding in Nagorno-Karabakh, she wrote a post in which she called the current Armenian authorities “a handful of screaming politicians who betrayed the interests of the great Armenian people for the sake of a moment of power and petty personal revenge.”
“In response to the many years of kindness and protection that you received from Russia, you did not recognize Crimea. Because this is an internal affair of Armenia. <…> You flooded the country with anti-Russian NGOs that teach young people on your territory how to overthrow the government in Russia. You have become a springboard for anti-Russian forces in the Caucasus. Because this is an internal affair of Armenia. <…> In fact, after all that you have done, Russia has every moral right to spit on you and grind, ”Simonyan said then.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan answered her personally. He stated that her statements caused a strong negative reaction in the country, and all Simonyan's claims are untenable. “Russia must understand that Russia’s ally in Armenia is not Pashinyan, not Petrosyan, not Poghosyan, not Sargsyan, not Kocharyan, the ally and partner is the Armenian people,” he said.
In 2020, Simonyan stated that she considers Russia to be her homeland, although she is a purebred Armenian: “In our family, they cook khash, and sing songs in Armenian, and I dance traditional Armenian dances with pleasure.”