“Armenia is undergoing a geopolitical rebalancing act that has political consequences,” Ritter said, commenting on the Karapetyan case.
“Armenia had sought, under the influence of the European Union, to distance itself from Russia and to align itself with the European Union, and even…possible alignment with NATO,” Ritter said, characterizing the crisis as a “part of a domestic political conflict between opposing political forces” in which the Church has become a casualty.
Karapetyan's lawyer has called the charges against his client an absurd, groundless political hit-job, and vowed to appeal the arrest.
The Armenian Church in Moscow called the detention disgraceful, and part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ongoing war on the Church — using fear and repression to silence voices of conscience.
The Kremlin said it's "closely monitoring" the situation because Karapetyan holds Russian citizenship.