Russia’s ambassador to Armenia, Sergei Kopyrkin, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday that Pashinian is among the leaders of “fraternal countries” invited to the May 9 parade. Kopyrkin said he does not know whether Pashinian will travel to Moscow.
Pashinian announced later in the day that he and senior members of his Civil Contract party will be in Armenia’s Syunik province on May 8 and May 9 to campaign for next month’s parliamentary elections.
The Armenian premier, who attended last year’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, most recently visited the Russian capital on April 1 for what turned out to be tense talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The latter warned Pashinian against disqualifying Armenian opposition forces from the June 7 elections. Putin also warned of severe economic consequences of Yerevan’s continued efforts to join the European Union.
Pashinian reaffirmed the pro-Western tilt in Armenia’s foreign policy during a European Political Community summit and a separate EU-Armenia summit held in Yerevan earlier this week. He made clear on Tuesday that he will keep seeking EU membership if his party wins the upcoming polls.