UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTRY & ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND; ADDS ADDITIONAL DECK, REVISES HEADLINE & LEDE
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia and Kazakhstan on Wednesday described Armenia's announcement that it had foiled a coup attempt against the government as an "internal matter."
“This is, of course, an internal matter for Armenia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing.
“We are, of course, interested in the preservation of law and order in Armenia, so that Armenia is a prosperous, stable country, friendly to Russia,” Peskov added.
Later in the day, Kazakhstan also defined the situation as an internal matter of Armenia, saying Astana is developing full-scale cooperation with Armenia "in the spirit of friendship and strategic partnership."
"We value the atmosphere of mutual trust that has developed between our countries. We wish the Armenian people peace and prosperity," Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said in a statement published on Telegram.
Earlier, Armenia's Investigative Committee accused Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who led protests in mid-2024 demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation, and a number of alleged co-conspirators of instigating a change of power in Armenia in November 2024.
"At this time, 14 people have been arrested based on the investigator's decisions," the committee later said, adding that 16 people have been indicted.
"Law enforcement officers prevented a large and sinister plan by the 'criminal-oligarchic clergy' to destabilize the Republic of Armenia and seize power," Pashinyan wrote in a post on Facebook, while also sharing the committee's initial statement.