Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia’s relationship with Russia is in a phase of “constructive transformation.”

“Armenia will develop mutually beneficial and constructive relations with Russia,” he said on social media while presenting the Civil Contract party’s election program for 2026.

“I repeat once again: it is difficult to overestimate the importance of our relations with Russia. I also want to clarify what I mean by ‘constructive transformation.’ Essentially, Armenia’s relations with Russia were entirely shaped in the context of the Karabakh movement. Now that we are no longer continuing the Karabakh movement, that peace has been established, and the conflict is over, the relationship must naturally be adjusted and developed in line with this new logic.

Let me give a simple example: in the past, under conditions of conflict, we never had railway communication with Russia; now we do. Will this have an impact on our relations? Absolutely. Will that impact be constructive? Absolutely. It is in this logic that we will continue our path, and we will not allow any attempts to create problems in Armenia–Russia relations. Indeed, some forces in Armenia are trying to provoke and incite crises in our relations. We will not allow that. We will direct all our efforts toward the further development of constructive relations with Russia.

The nuance is that this must take place within the framework of the formula of a balanced and balancing foreign policy,” the Prime Minister said.