The Russian ambassador in Armenia received a note of protest.

The specific words of the program host Dmitry Kiselev that were deemed directed against the sovereignty of Armenia have not been specified. In the broadcast of the "Vesti Nedeli" program on January 12, one of the segments focused on the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kiselev claimed that Yerevan is ignoring "its own obligations under the trilateral agreement" and the demand of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to open the Zangezur corridor – a route through Armenia's Syunik region that would connect Azerbaijan with its exclave, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

The host also stated that the Armenian project to unblock transport communications in the South Caucasus, "Crossroads of the World," is unacceptable to Azerbaijan due to "the necessity of building roads through the complex terrain of the mountains."

Kiselev also discussed the initiation of the process for Armenia's accession to the European Union and the "winding down of relations with Russia." "This won't end well. As they say, your choice," the host declared.

According to the trilateral agreement between Moscow, Yerevan, and Baku, signed in November 2020 after Azerbaijan regained control over a significant portion of the Nagorno-Karabakh territories following a 44-day war with Armenia, the Armenian side was to unblock communications and ensure the security of transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan. Control was to be exercised by the border troops of the FSB of Russia.

The issue of restoring transport communication in the region has become one of the most contentious points in the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent years. Both sides interpret the trilateral agreement from November 2020 differently.

President Aliyev insists that the Armenian side immediately provide Azerbaijan with the territory of the Syunik region to establish the so-called Zangezur corridor. He has repeatedly threatened to resolve this issue using military force. "We will implement the Zangezur corridor, whether Armenia wants it or not. If they want it, we will resolve it easily; if not, we will resolve it by force. Just as I said before and during the war, they must voluntarily leave our lands, or we will expel them by force. That's exactly what happened. The same fate awaits the Zangezur corridor," – stated Aliyev in April 2021.

The Armenian side insisted that the trilateral agreement only mentions the unblocking of transport communications and does not include the words "Zangezur" or "corridor." The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, declared that "there cannot be a corridor of another sovereign country on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia."

• In recent years, the relations between Russia and Armenia, which were previously considered close and allied, have significantly cooled. The Armenian side reduced and then suspended its participation in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. By the fall of 2023, Armenia had refused to participate in the CSTO's autumn exercises. The reason for this was the lack of response from the organization to the Armenian side's requests regarding combat actions between Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2022. Yerevan views these events as a "large-scale attack" on its territory or as "occupation." Azerbaijan describes this as a "large-scale provocation" by Armenia.
• Last week, the Armenian parliament approved a bill to initiate the process of applying for EU membership. Russia stated that this step would make Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union – a customs bloc led by Moscow – incompatible.