Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted outside the city later in the day an annual informal meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders. It will be followed by a summit on Thursday of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Russian-led trade bloc comprising fewer ex-Soviet states.
Pashinian said on Facebook early in the morning that he tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and worked remotely in the following days.
“My December 25 test result is negative, and I am returning to my normal work schedule,” he wrote. “However, after consulting with my colleagues, I will not participate in the informal summit of the CIS leaders to be held in Saint Petersburg today.”
In another post a few hours later, Pashinian said that he took another test and that it came back positive. “I will work with certain restrictions until I recover,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, meanwhile, that Pashinian will not arrive in the Russian city and will attend Thursday’s EEU summit via video link. The Armenian premier did not confirm that as of 10 p.m. local time.
Some Armenian commentators dismissed the official explanation of Pashinian’s no-show, saying that it is an excuse for another boycott of ex-Soviet summits which reflects Yerevan’s strained relations with Moscow. Hayk Konjorian, the parliamentary leader of Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party, denied these claims.
Pashinian’s press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that he takes coronavirus tests “when the host country has a corresponding protocol or procedure.” Baghdasarian did not say explicitly whether the latest tests reported by the prime minister were demanded by the Russians.
According to the Armenian Ministry of Health, only 29 coronavirus cases have been registered in the country over the last two weeks.
The upcoming EEU summit will take place in Saint Petersburg, rather than Yerevan, despite Armenia’s yearlong rotating presidency of the bloc. Pashinian said earlier this month that he will not host it because not all leaders of EEU member states are welcome in Armenia. It was not clear whether he referred to Putin or Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Pashinian skipped similar EEU and CIS meetings held in Kyrgyzstan in October 2023. He went on to boycott a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit before announcing an effective suspension Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led military alliance. Yerevan has so far been careful not to distance itself from the EEU as well, mindful of the Armenian economy’s heavy dependence on Russia’s vast market and relatively cheap natural gas.
“Armenia is still a very important participant of the EEU and the CIS,” Peskov told Russian journalists on Wednesday. “Both Armenia and the Armenian people receive a lot of dividends from this participation.”