He also repeated Russia’s warnings about economic consequences of Armenia’s possible membership in the European Union sought by Pashinian’s government.

“We have a lot of friends in Armenia, a lot,” Putin said in his opening remarks at the talks. “We know that. Many Armenians live in the Russian Federation. There are different ways to count [their number.] We believe there are over 2 million of them … And there are many political forces [in Armenia] that are pro-Russian.”

“Of course, I will tell you completely frankly, we have such a dialogue that we always speak honestly and directly with you. We would really like all these political parties, politicians to be able to take part in this domestic political work during the elections,” he said.

Some of those politicians are currently under arrest “despite holding Russian passports,” Putin pointed out in a clear reference to Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire prosecuted after condemning Pashinian’s attempts to depose Catholicos Garegin II.

Karapetian set up an opposition movement shortly after his arrest last year. It is now expected to be one of the main opposition contenders in the elections slated for June 7. Two other major opposition groups are led by former President Ronbert Kocharian and businessman Gagik Tsarukian.

In series of statements made earlier this year, senior members of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party said that the Armenian government will not “allow” the three opposition forces to collectively win a majority in the country’s next parliament and form a new government. The statements raised opposition fears that some or all of them will be barred from participating in the elections.

Pashinian’s administration added to those fears when it officially asked the EU in February to deploy a “hybrid rapid response team” to Armenia after implicitly alleging Russian “hybrid” threats to the integrity of the electoral process. The EU formally agreed to that last month

The EU sent such a mission in Moldova during parliamentary elections held there last September. Two Moldovan opposition parties deemed pro-Russian were disqualified from the vote won by the former Soviet republic’s pro-Western leadership.

The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed on March 4 that the EU is gearing up for a repeat of “the Moldovan scenario” in Armenia. Some Armenian opposition figures and commentators have also made such claims. The Armenian authorities insist, however, that they only want the EU to assist in the proper conduct of the polls.

Responding to Putin’s election-related warning, Pashinian said that under the Armenian constitution, dual citizens like Karapetian cannot become prime minister or even hold a parliament seat. The tycoon’s party has made clear that it will try to remove this constitutional hurdle if it wins the elections.

Tensions between Moscow and Yerevan have run high in recent years amid Pashinian’s efforts to reorient Armenia towards the West. The Armenian government enacted last year a law calling for the “start of a process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union.” Moscow has since repeatedly warned that seeking to join the EU 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.

Putin repeated those warnings during his meeting with Pashinian which is understood to have been requested by the latter in a recent phone call. He noted that Russia remains Armenia’s most important trading partner and supplies natural gas to the South Caucasus state at a significant discount.

“As you know, energy prices, gas prices in Europe, for example, are currently skyrocketing to over $600 per thousand cubic meters,” he said. “Russia sells gas to Armenia for $177.5 per thousand cubic meters. The difference is significant.”

Pashinian responded by again saying that Armenia will eventually have to choose between the two blocs.

“As long as there is an opportunity to combine these two agendas, we will do so,” he said. “And when the processes develop to a point where a decision needs to be made, I am confident that we, I mean the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, will make that decision.”

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