Lavrov also criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s renewed attacks on Russia and other ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
“It is somewhat strange for us to hear periodic statements about some mythical attacks being prepared ‘from the north’ against Armenia, about an existential threat from the CSTO,” he told Simonian at the start of their talks in Moscow.
“I can assure you that when signals are heard from abroad that someone, clearly meaning the Russian Federation, is planning to interfere in the elections, and when calls are made from Yerevan for the European Union to ‘help us prevent such interference,’ this strikes us as odd,” he said. “I have no doubt that responsible politicians in Yerevan are fully aware that these approaches are being made with clearly provocative intent.”
“I don’t want to see an impression here in Russia that Armenia is trying to do something against a friendly allied state like the Russian Federation despite the fact that there are issues that need to be discussed,” replied Simonian, who arrived in Moscow on an official visit.
The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, revealed in early December that Pashinian’s government has asked for “help to fight foreign malign interference” in the Armenian elections slated for June. The Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed afterwards that Yerevan wants the EU to help it “counter potential hybrid threats” to the proper conduct of the vote. Pashinian and his political allies have implied that those threats emanate from Russia.
Belgium - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan meets EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Brussels, December 2, 2025.
Simonian openly accused Russia last May of waging a “hybrid war” against Armenia in a bid to bring down its government seeking closer ties with the West. He singled out Russian television coverage of political developments in his country.
The Armenian speaker, who is a leading member of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, appeared to allude to that coverage on Thursday when he complained to Lavrov about “statements coming from Moscow.”
“It is very painful to hear such statements,” he said.
Lavrov charged late last month that the EU itself is encouraging Pashinian’s administration to rig the June elections and seek further confrontation with Russia. He pointed to Kallas’s remark that the 27-nation bloc is ready for the kind of assistance it provided to Moldova ahead of elections held there in September.
Two pro-Russian Moldovan opposition parties were barred from participating in those polls won by the country’s pro-Western leadership. The EU alleged Russian interference in them when it justified those bans. Moscow denied the allegations.
Lavrov on Thursday also repeated Russian warnings about Yerevan’s desire to join the EU, saying that it is “not compatible” with Armenia’s continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Russian-led trade bloc that gives Armenian exporters tariff-free access to Russia’s vast market. He noted that Armenia’s GDP has more than doubled since it joined the EEU a decade ago.
“It's just a fact. I won't even comment on it. Moscow remains your main trading partner,” added the Russian minister.
Yerevan maintains that it does not yet intend to leave the EEU. Still, Pashinian said last summer that Armenia will eventually have to choose between the two blocs.
According to Armenian government data, Russia accounted for 35.5 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade in January-November 2025, followed by China (12.5 percent) and the EU (11.8 percent).