In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, Pashinian again blamed Russian peacekeepers for the mass exodus from Karabakh that followed Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive. He said that they were “unable or unwilling to ensure the security of the Karabakh Armenians.”
Pashinian also reiterated that contrary to its mission and statutes, the Russian-led Collective Security Organization (CSTO) did not intervene to defend its member state Armenia against Azerbaijani aggression in 2021 and 2022.
“We also have a bilateral security treaty with Russia and actions spelled out by that treaty did not happen either, which also raised very serious questions among the Armenian government and public,” he said.
This is why Yerevan is now striving to “diversify” its foreign and security policies, added Pashinian.
Commenting on his remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We need to understand exactly what Mr. Pashinyan was talking about. In conversations with our Armenian friends, we expect to receive all the information on this matter.”
“And, of course, it is not good for Russia and Armenia to communicate through newspapers, especially the Wall Street Journal,” Peskov told reporters. “Therefore, we are continuing the conversation, dialogue with our Armenian friends, and we will keep doing so. We have a very extensive agenda.”
Moscow reacted far more strongly to another newspaper interview which Pashinian gave in early September. He told Italy’s La Repubblica daily that he wants to “diversify our security policy” because Armenia’s long-standing heavy reliance on Russia has proved a “strategic mistake.” The rift between Moscow and Yerevan has deepened further since then, raising more questions about their long-standing military, political and economic alliance.
The Armenian premier appeared to tone down his criticism of Moscow in his latest interview. He said that Armenia has started a “dialogue” with Russia and other CSTO allies to “try to understand the reason for this situation.” And he again made clear that his government is not considering demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Armenia even if it sees no “advantages” in their presence.