Russia on Friday summoned the Armenian ambassador for a "harsh" protest about a list of what it termed "unfriendly steps", the latest sign of strain between Moscow and the small ex-Soviet republic in a region Russia considers its back yard, Reuters reports.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry listed these as Yerevan's decisions to sign up to the international criminal court and to host a military exercise with the United States, as well as a visit to Ukraine by the Armenian prime minister's wife to deliver humanitarian aid.
The ministry said a "harsh representation" had been made to the ambassador, Vagharshak Harutyunyan, also complaining of "offensive statements" allegedly made by Alen Simonyan, chair of the Armenian National Assembly, about ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base and relies almost entirely on Russia for its defence supplies, has complained bitterly in recent months that Russian peacekeepers have failed to end an Azerbaijani blockade of supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan.
Pressed on the slow speed of Ukraine's counteroffensive, Zelenskiy said:
"People tend to want everything immediately, and understandably so, but this is not a feature movie when everything can happen in an hour and a half.
"Some partners ask what's up with the counteroffensive, what are the next steps. My current answer is 'Our steps are faster than your sanction packages".
