Its key election challengers, notably former President Robert Kocharian, said, however, that the country will pay a heavy economic price if the ruling Civil Contract party wins the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Moscow stepped up its criticism of Yerevan on Wednesday, with the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, accusing Pashinian’s government of systematically taking hostile steps against Armenia’s traditional ally. It is seeking to join the European Union and increasingly siding with the EU against Russia on the international stage, Shoigu told an emergency meeting at the Kremlin that discussed the future of Russian-Armenian relations.

The meeting came just hours after Pashinian stated on the election campaign trail that he will refrain from any “drastic action” against Moscow. It was followed serious restrictions on the import of Armenian cut flowers announced by a Russian government agency.

The announcement raised fears of similar curbs on shipments of other Armenian goods to Russia, the South Caucasus nation’s main export market. There was also renewed speculation about a surge in the price of Russian natural gas currently set well below international levels. Russian officials have implicitly warned of such measures in recent weeks.

Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, who is a senior member of Civil Contract, expressed confidence that the Russians will avoid such an escalation if Pashinian’s party wins the upcoming elections.

“I assure you that all this talk will end on the morning of June 8 when the Central Election Commission releases the [election] results and you see the vote of our people,” he told reporters. “And after that all issues will be closed.”

“We believe that the partnership [with Russia] will continue normally, and we are working in that direction,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said for his part.

Kocharian, who leads one of the three main opposition groups running in the elections, claimed the opposite as he campaigned in Armenia’s central Aragatsotn province.

“Yesterday’s reaction [by Russia] is a very bad sign,” the 71-year-old ex-president told supporters there. “I know that country very well. I can read between the lines of what officials there are saying. What they are saying is, ‘Dear Armenians, you have a problem with your government.’”

“If they ban other agricultural products tomorrow what will those poor people [producing them] do?” he said. “For example, what will those who have taken loans, built greenhouses to grow flowers and export them to Russia do? Let [Pashinian] arrange for them sell those flowers in France.”

“It’s not just Russian policy. This is how things are done around the world. They set more favorable [trade] regimes for friendly countries and different regimes for non-friendly countries. Now Russia is saying, ‘You want to get chummy with our enemies. What do you expect from me?’” added Kocharian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pashinian on April 1 that the Armenian government’s moves to eventually join the European Union are “not compatible” with Armenia’s continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which gives Armenian exporters tariff-free access to Russia’s market. Pashinian made clear afterwards that Yerevan will continue to strive for EU membership. During the ongoing election campaign, he has branded his main challengers as Russian spies.

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