Native of Armenia tells about threat to his security after brawl in "Neolit" Cafe

Garnik Vardanyan, who was declared by Fuad Abbasov, the head of the Centre for Information Initiatives, as a possible instigator of the mass brawl in Moscow, said he has to hide for security reasons. He treats himself as a victim of a provocation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the brawl with shooting at the "Neolit" Cafe in Moscow broke out on February 15. According to eyewitnesses, some 50-100 people, natives of Chechnya and Azerbaijan, took part in it. According to sources, the conflict was preceded by mutual insults in social networks.

Garnik Vardanyan said that he was mistakenly considered to be involved in the brawl in Moscow. He refuted the version that he had pointed members of the Azerbaijani Diaspora to a certain Chechen.

The mass brawl of Azerbaijanis with Chechens in Moscow was provoked by some "third forces," said Polad Bulbul ogly, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia.

Law enforcers have no claims to Vardanyan, David Tonoyan, the spokesman of the Association of Russian Armenians, has stated.

Sarkis Enokyan, an activist of the public organization "Armenians of the World, Unite!", began collecting signatures to an application to the police asking to initiate a criminal case on the publication of personal data and inciting interethnic hatred.

"We are sure that the law enforcement bodies will seriously treat our application ... Russia is a multinational country; and any attempt to kindle discord among nations of the Russian Federation should be stopped," he has stated.