Pashinian’s government has minimized diplomatic and other contacts with Moscow and reoriented its foreign policy towards the West in the last few years, causing an unprecedented rift between Armenia and Russia.
The government further underlined the pro-Western tilt in its foreign policy when it pushed through the Armenian parliament on February 12 a bill declaring the “start of a process of Armenia's accession to the European Union.” The parliament controlled by Pashinian’s party was due to pass the bill in the second and final reading early this month. But that was postponed for ostensibly “technical” reasons.
The unexpected delay stoked speculation that Pashinian now wants to mend fences with Russia because of the unfolding thaw in U.S.-Russian relations which could stop the war in Ukraine and allow Moscow to shore up its positions in the South Caucasus. In a March 14 phone call, the Armenian premier told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will attend on May 9 a military parade in Moscow dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
At least two Armenian media outlets reported around the same time that Pashinian instructed Armenia’s parliament, Foreign Ministry and other government agencies to unfreeze and intensify contacts with their Russian counterparts.
Commenting on those reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Actually, relations between Russia and Armenia were not interrupted. They can't be interrupted. Armenia is a friendly country for us. This is a sovereign state, but we have many things in common -- bilaterally, historically, and culturally.”
“And, of course, we are more than satisfied with such reciprocal attitude of the Armenian side to the prospects of our bilateral relations and are ready to develop them in every way,” Peskov added, according to the TASS news agency.
On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and his Armenian counterpart Mnatsakan Safarian held in Moscow the first Russian-Armenian diplomatic “consultations” in four years. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, they engaged in a “frank and objective exchange of views on the entire spectrum of issues of bilateral relations.” They also discussed “the situation in the South Caucasus and prospects for its development,” read a ministry statement.
The ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, again criticized, meanwhile, Armenia for freezing its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) a year ago. She also indicated that Yerevan would need some time to restore its full-fledged participation in the Russian-led military alliance.
“I must tell you, as a thrifty hostess, that defrosting requires time,” Zakharova told a news briefing.
For his part, Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, warned the Armenian leadership against pressing ahead with the EU membership bid. He said on Thursday that Moscow would retaliate by not only imposing hefty tariffs on Armenian products and end energy price discounts but also deporting scores of Armenian migrant workers.
