In an unusually short statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said only that the two men discussed “bilateral and regional issues.” The Russian Foreign Ministry issued no statement on the call by the end of the day.
The ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, sounded, meanwhile, optimistic about Russia’s future relationship with Armenia when she spoke to the official TASS news agency. Zakharova said she is encouraged by a group of Armenians participating in an international youth festival organized by the Russian government.
Underlining mounting tensions between their countries, Lavrov and Mirzoyan avoided holding talks on the sidelines of an international security forum held in the Turkish city of Antalya over the weekend. Lavrov issued stern warnings to the Armenian government when he spoke at a news conference there.
He said Russia will seriously “reconsider” its relationship with Armenia if the latter continues drifting away from its traditional ally and aligning with the West. He also said Moscow expects Yerevan’s “final decision” on the future of Russian-Armenian relations.
Lavrov further complained that Armenian leaders are reluctant to receive Igor Khovayev, a Russian special envoy on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict who again visited Baku late last month. He said the snub reflects the pro-Western tilt in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s foreign policy.
In recent months, Pashinian’s government has turned down Russian offers to organize further Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks and preferred instead Western mediation of the negotiation process. Russian officials say the United States and the European Union are primarily concerned with driving Russia out of the South Caucasus, rather than resolving the conflict.
