Russian intelligence claims EU is pushing Russian Orthodox Church out of Armenia

MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. The European Union leadership has been aggressively squeezing the Russian Orthodox Church out of Armenia as it demands that Yerevan cut centuries-long religious ties with Moscow as a prerequisite for integration into the bloc, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said in a statement.

The Europeans have engaged in a smear campaign against the Diocese of Yerevan and Armenia of the Russian Orthodox Church to encourage the Armenian authorities to clamp down on its members.

TASS has compiled key statements from the SVR.

EU’s objective

According to information coming to the SVR, the European Union’s leadership has taken an aggressive approach to push the Russian Orthodox Church out of Armenia: "European antichrists have made the Russian Orthodox Church in Armenia their target."

The EU has insisted that Yerevan cut all religious and spiritual ties with Moscow as a prerequisite for integration into the bloc, the SVR noted: "They demand the Armenian authorities cut the country’s centuries-long religious and spiritual ties with Moscow as a prerequisite for European integration."

Smear campaign

According to the SVR, the EU is trying to deprive the Diocese of Yerevan and Armenia of the Russian Orthodox Church of rights to any church property and block its dialogue with the Armenian Apostolic Church: "In resolving this political and ideological task, the EU’s partnership mission in Armenia has embarked on a malicious attack on Russian Orthodoxy."

The Europeans have engaged in a smear campaign against members of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Diocese of Yerevan and Armenia to instigate a large-scale clampdown in Armenia, the SVR argued.

Russia-Armenia ties

"In this regard, we would like to remind European officials that Armenia and Russia have a longer history of relations than the EU’s history," the SVR said.

The ties between the fraternal peoples of Russia and Armenia are stronger than any of the EU’s PR projects and will survive attacks from the Europeans, the SVR concluded.