They also discussed “issues on the agenda of Armenia-Russia relations,” Pashinian’s office said without elaborating. The Kremlin did not issue a readout of the call.
Russian-Armenian relations have deteriorated further in recent months, with Moscow pressuring Yerevan to quickly choose between continuing to seek European Union membership and remaining part of a Russian-led trade bloc. Putin has repeatedly called for an Armenian referendum on the issue. Pashinian remains reluctant to hold such a vote.
The two leaders publicly sparred on the referendum issue at their most recent meeting held in Kyrgyzstan on September 1. They agreed to meet again in Russia later this year. A senior aide to Putin, Yuri Ushakov, said late on Tuesday that the two sides have still not set a date for those talks.
“To be honest, there haven't been any diplomatic contacts on this matter yet,” Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
He also said that Putin is not scheduled to meet with Pashinian on the sidelines of a summit of ex-Soviet states that will take place in Turkmenistan later this week.
Putin and Pashinian should presumably meet ahead of the next summit of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) slated for December. A senior Russian diplomat said in August that Yerevan should call the referendum by that time or risk losing its membership in the bloc.
Putin and the leaders of the three other EEU member states -- Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan -- effectively set that deadline in a joint statement issued during their last summit in May boycotted by Pashinian. The latter stressed afterwards that Armenia cannot be kicked out of the bloc that gives Armenian exporters tariff-free access to the Russian market.
Armenia’s EEU membership did not prevent Russia from banning imports of Armenian agricultural products and mineral water in May and June. Russian officials have warned of more sanctions against Yerevan.