Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow has become a fork in the road for Armenia’s political choice. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Yerevan’s drift towards the EU will lead to a break with Eurasian integration, says columnist Lyubov Stepushova.
On April 1, Pashinyan arrived in Moscow, the visit was aimed at showing voters that he has good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although the country has headed for the Euro Union, and therefore NATO.
The Putin—Pashinyan meeting was broadcast by the media and on social networks. Putin’s accents, pauses and direct formulations make it clear that he put Pashinyan in front of the fact: there have been no good relations for a long time, and they can get much worse because Yerevan stubbornly implements the anti-Russia project.
Putin clearly said that Armenia’s course towards the European Union is incompatible with its presence in the Eurasian integration, due to which Armenia maintains a stable standard of living for its citizens. Putin clarified that gas is currently being traded for $ 600 per thousand cubic meters, and Russia is selling it to Armenia for $ 177.
At the meeting, Pashinyan devoted many words to the bright present and even brighter future in relations with Azerbaijan. If it is so bright, then what are the complaints about the CSTO, which allegedly did not stand up for Karabakh? Putin noted that Pashinyan’s recognition of Artsakh as Azerbaijani in Prague in 2022 closes the topic of claims against the CSTO.
The affairs of the Armenian leadership speak for themselves. Yerevan insists on selling the railway concession owned by Russian Railways to “some other country” because the Russian presence allegedly creates obstacles to the development of Armenia — no one will go along the road because of Russian control. At the same time, Yerevan invites Russian Railways specialists to repair part of the “Trump Road” or the Zangezur corridor (Mengri section) connecting Nakhichevan with Azerbaijan. It is clear to anyone that this is, at least, ugly, because it is selfish, and the arrival of Americans in the South Caucasus region violates the existing security balance there with huge risks for Russia.
In addition, the war in the Middle East demonstrates how quickly all countries in the region are drawn into it, and drone strikes on the territory of Nakhichevan immediately affected transportation along the North-South international transport corridor and did not add confidence to Western investors who want to invest in the Trump Road.
And not everything is so good in relations with Russia, as Pashinyan says, if the trade turnover has halved in a year, the Armenian authorities have beaten off in Russia wants to invest and trade in the illegal nationalization of the “Electric Networks of Armenia” with Russian capital. Cooperation with Rosatom on the Metsamor NPP is also hanging in the balance, as in Yerevan decided to partially involve Americans in the construction of new modular reactors.
If the Armenian leadership raises the issue of the undesirability of the Russian business presence, then the question of reciprocity also arises, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said in an interview with TASS.
The results of the last summit meeting will be known about the real affairs of Yerevan. But one thing is obvious — Armenia is at a political crossroads. One of the options suggests the path of Ukraine — severing ties with Russia, integration into Europe (which will not be) with a decrease in the standard of living of the population, and so on. The second way is a principled course towards cooperation with Russia and the EAEU, but, of course, Pashinyan is not able to return to it — they will not let him.
Perhaps the elections in June will change something, but the pro-Russian forces are now carefully getting out of the electoral process.
Read more: https://eadaily.com/en/news/2026/04/03/of-course-its-up-to-you-to-decide-putin-explained-to-pashinyan-what-awaits-armenia-with-pashinyan
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