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Akbar Novruz

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned that politicians involved in what she described as the persecution of the Armenian Church would face an “eternal curse.”

“Those who participate in the persecution of the church in Armenia will be cursed. Pass that on. There are terrible crimes, but fighting against God, when genuine persecution is carried out using the entire arsenal of means, is a centuries-old curse,” Zakharova said, according to Lenta.ru.

Zakharova had previously accused Armenian authorities of violating procedures during parliamentary elections held this summer and claimed that representatives of the Church had been “steamrolled” by the authorities.

Tensions between the Armenian Apostolic Church and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government have escalated in recent months.

A criminal case against Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and six senior clerics was launched earlier in 2026 amid the continuing dispute between the Church and the Armenian authorities.

The Armenian government has rejected accusations that it is conducting a campaign against the Church, while the dispute has become a source of political tension inside the country.