“Russian-Armenian strategic, allied relations are quite rich and extensive,” he told the Interfax news agency. “They are based on the historical proximity of our friendly peoples. The character of these relations does not depend on the outcome of the forthcoming pre-term elections.”
Pashinian is scheduled to visit Moscow and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The Kremlin said on Monday that the two leaders will discuss bilateral ties and the implementation of a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in November.
Pashinian has pledged to hold snap elections in late June in a bid to end a serious political crisis in Armenia sparked by the six-week war.
A senior Russian official said late last week that Moscow hopes the planned vote will be a “starting point for achieving long-term stability in Armenia.”
Pashinian also told Interfax that his government is “highly interested” in continued military cooperation with Moscow and, in particular, fresh supplies of Russian weapons. He said in that regard that Yerevan has not abandoned plans to buy more Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jets for its armed forces. He gave no time frames for their possible acquisition.
The Armenian military received four such multirole jets in December 2019. The Defense Ministry in Yerevan has said that none of them was involved in the six-week war with Azerbaijan because it has still not acquired sophisticated rockets and bombs designed for Su-30SM.
Pashinian pledged to further deepen Russian-Armenian relations shortly after the hostilities which left at least 3,500 Armenian soldiers dead and more than 10,000 others wounded. He said that his country needs “new security guarantees” now.