“We support your sovereignty and territorial integrity and we also support your efforts to develop a more independent foreign policy, which we think is important,” he told Pashinian at the start of their talks.
Stoltenberg arrived in the Armenian capital on the last leg of his tour of the three South Caucasus states that came amid a further deterioration of Armenia’s relations with Russia, its longtime ally. In late January, his special representative to the region, Javier Colomina, praised Yerevan for moving away from Moscow.
Pashinian announced afterwards an effective “freezing” of Armenia’s membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and did not exclude that it will leave the Russian-led military alliance altogether. Also, some members of his political team said that the Armenian government is considering applying for European Union membership.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned last week that Yerevan risks causing “irreparable damage” to Russian-Armenian relations. Pashinian seems undeterred by such warnings.
“Of course, we are interested in deepening our cooperation with NATO, and I hope that the Individually Tailored Partnership Program for Armenia will be accepted as soon as possible,” the premier told Stoltenberg.
The NATO chief likewise expressed hope that the framework for closer NATO-Armenia cooperation will be worked out “very soon.” He also praised Armenia for sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine last year. At least some of that aid involved medication supplied to Ukrainian military hospitals.
“I welcome your solidarity with Ukraine and call on all partners to do everything in their power to prevent [Russian President Vladimir] Putin from winning his war of aggression,” Stoltenberg said in a statement to the press made after the talks with Pashinian.
Pashinian’s domestic critics have denounced his efforts to reorient Armenia towards the West as reckless, saying that the resulting security vacuum cannot be filled by NATO or any of the Western powers. They also argue that Turkey is a key NATO member state that provided decisive military assistance to Azerbaijan during the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Stoltenberg reportedly praised Turkish-Azerbaijani military cooperation as he wrapped up his visit to Baku on Monday. He said it will greatly contribute to the deepening of [Azerbaijan’s] relations with NATO.”