Putin met with Pashinyan after the Eurasian Economic Union summit, which both attended. At the start of the talks, Putin noted that bilateral trade was growing, but admitted that “there are some issues related to security in the region.”
Pashinyan, who last visited Moscow in December, said that “a series of questions have accumulated since then.”
Armenia’s relations with its long-time ally Russia have become strained, especially after Azerbaijan’s blitzkrieg in Nagorno-Karabakh last September.
Baku seized Nagorno-Karabakh in one day, which had existed as a “de facto” independent Armenian republic for more than 30 years after the collapse of the USSR. When Azerbaijan took control of Nagorno-Karabakh, its entire Armenian population – more than 100,000 people – fled to Armenia.
Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after the previous hostilities in 2020 of failing to stop the Azerbaijani attack. Moscow, which has a military base in Armenia, rejects the accusations, saying its troops had no mandate to intervene.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has criticized Pashinyan’s efforts to deepen ties with the West and distance himself from security and economic alliances dominated by Moscow.
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that the country will stop paying membership fees to the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia had previously suspended membership of the group as Pashinyan sought to strengthen ties with the European Union (EU) and NATO.
Russia is also unhappy with Armenia’s decision to join the International Criminal Court, which last year accused Putin of war crimes.
Moscow has publicly expressed concern about Yerevan’s westward drift, but has tried to play down the differences.
