“We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a huge mistake by deliberately trying to destroy the multifaceted and centuries-old ties between Armenia and Russia and making the country a hostage to geopolitical games of the West,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
In a weekend address to the nation, Pashinian held the Russians responsible for the exodus of Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population resulting from last week’s Azerbaijani military offensive. He also declared that the military alliance with Russia and membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are not enough to ensure Armenia’s national security. Moscow is now also intent on ending the South Caucasus country’s independence, he charged.
The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back at the Armenian premier in equally strong terms. It dismissed his “unacceptable attacks” as an attempt to “relieve himself of responsibility for failures in domestic and foreign policy by shifting the blame to Moscow.”
“Russia has always been faithful to its allied obligations, respected Armenian statehood and never confronted the republic with a choice: with us or against us,” it said in a statement.
The statement blamed the Azerbaijani offensive on Pashinian’s controversial decision to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh during October 2022 and May 2023 talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev organized by the European Union. “This fundamentally changed … the position of the Russian peacekeeping contingent [in Karabakh,]” it said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov “categorically” disagreed with Pashinian’s criticism of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh. “The Russian peacekeepers show real heroism in performing their duties according to their mandate,” he said.
Peskov also said that Moscow still regards Yerevan as an ally and will continue its “dialogue” with Pashinian.
The Armenian premier on Sunday stopped short of announcing his country’s impending exit from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or other Russian-led blocs. He said Yerevan will continue to reform the Armenian army and seek to formalize Armenian-Azerbaijani understandings brokered by the European Union.
Sargis Khandanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, was also vague on this score when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Monday. He said only that the Armenian government will “think and figure out how to reinforce our security mechanisms.”
“We cannot talk about a specific [alternative] security system at this point because it’s a complex and long process,” Khandanian said when asked about geopolitical alternatives considered by Yerevan.
The pro-government lawmaker also echoed Pashinian’s implicit allegations that Moscow is fomenting ongoing protests in Yerevan organized by Armenian opposition groups in a bid to topple him. He said anti-Pashinian statements by Russian politicians and commentators constitute “interference in Armenia’s internal affairs.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry statement insisted that Moscow is not behind the daily anti-government protests. It said they were sparked by Armenians’ “understandable discontent” with Pashinian’s “irresponsible” policies.
Russian-Armenian relations already worsened significantly in the run-up to the Azerbaijani offensive in Karabakh launched on September 19. Pashinian declared that Armenia’s long-standing reliance on Russia has proved a “strategic mistake.” The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenia’s ambassador on September 8 to protest against this and other “unfriendly steps” taken by Yerevan.