On October 24, Maria Zakharova, the Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, expressed shock that the history of the Armenian Genocide had, in her view, ceased to be considered sacred in Armenia. Speaking at a briefing, Zakharova stated that it was alarming that certain Armenian politicians were now discussing the possibility of abandoning the issue. "There are times in history when peoples and countries literally disappear because they fail to cope with challenges. Because they betray what is, and should be, truly sacred to them," she said, as quoted by RIA Novosti. Zakharova added that she was "simply shocked" to see how "seemingly sacred history, including the sacred philosophy based on history related to the Armenian Genocide, suddenly became, in the interpretation of many Armenian leaders and statesmen, simply some kind of political factor that could, in their words, be abandoned." She emphasized that “some things are truly sacred—and sacred because they cost the lives of a colossal number of people.”