The two men met in Saint Petersburg right after a summit of the leaders of former Soviet states. In his opening remarks, Pashinian thanked Putin for his “support for the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan” which he said is opening up “new opportunities” to deepen Russian-Armenian relations.
“We are currently also holding very constructive bilateral negotiations with the United States regarding the implementation and construction of the TRIPP (the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity) road,” he said. “These are truly significant and meaningful changes in our region, and there are many nuances here concerning our bilateral relations with the Russian Federation. Today, I think, is a very good opportunity to discuss all these issues.”
Putin spoke, for his part, of “good plans” by Moscow and Yerevan relating to energy and transport.
“I mean the restoration of old routes and the creation of new routes that open the borders of Armenia,” he said without elaborating.
Pashinian pledged to give the United States exclusive rights to the transit corridor during his trilateral talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held in Washington in August. Although the deal is seen by analysts as another blow to Russian presence in Armenia, Russia’s public reaction to it was rather cautious. Moscow said only that the transit arrangement must not be at odds with Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Russian-led trade bloc, and the presence of Russian border guards along the Armenian-Iranian border.
A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, Mikhail Kalugin, said last week that Russian must play a role in the transit arrangement crucial details of which have yet to be worked out. He argued that Armenia’s railway network is managed by Russia’s RZhD national rail operator and that the TRIPP would pass through “the zone of responsibility of our border guards.” A senior Armenian official was quick to stress that there have been no discussions on possible Russian involvement in the TRIPP.
Earlier this month, Pashinian said he has asked RZhD to restore Armenian railway sections leading to the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders.
“I can’t say that there are already political decisions about opening these railways, but I think that the situation has matured to the point where preparatory work needs to be carried out,” he told Putin in Saint Petersburg.
The issue may well have been on the agenda of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk’s December 17 visit to Yerevan.
Overchuk said ahead of the trip that Russian-Armenian trade is on course to shrink by half, to roughly $6 billion, this year. He said Russian companies are becoming “wary of working with Armenia” amid lingering tensions between Moscow and Yerevan. By contrast, Putin put on Monday an optimistic spin on Russian-Armenian commercial ties.