Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan denied today allegations that Armenia was changing its political vector, saying the authorities were looking for new means to protect the country.

"There is no question of vector, there is a question of ensuring Armenia’s security. And we will try all means available to ensure the country's territorial integrity and security, because the current ones do not satisfy us," he said at a press briefing on Monday, when asked whether Armenia was changing its political vector by stepping up contacts with the West amid tensions in Armenian-Russian relations.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it saw discrepancies in the Armenian side's position on a number of important issues.

In particular, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there was a difference in Armenia’s assessment of serious issues not only for Armenia, but also for regional security.

According to her, the cancellation of a trilateral meeting with Russian and Azerbaijani counterparts by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan that was to take place December 23, 2022, prevented the discussion not only of the peace treaty (between Armenia and Azerbaijan), but also on the situation around the Lachin corridor that has been blocked by Azerbaijan since last December 12, ARKA reports.