Underscoring its deepening rift with the Armenian government, Russia said on Monday that the weekend parliamentary elections in Armenia were not democratic and exposed a “noticeable” decline in public support for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Unlike European leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin was in no rush to congratulate Pashinian despite the release of preliminary official results giving victory to the country’s ruling Civil Contract party.
“We are waiting for the final results,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said that Moscow is also taking note of “numerous irregularities” reported during the ballot. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, went further, deploring “unprecedented pressure on the opposition and interference from the West, primarily the European Union.”
“The entire election campaign and the voting process itself took place amid harsh repression by the Armenian authorities against opposition parties and movements, their activists and supporters,” Zakharova said in a statement. “The Armenian Apostolic Church, traditionally deeply revered in the country, also came under attack. All of this constitutes a flagrant violation by Yerevan of democratic principles and procedures for holding free elections.”
Zakharova also said that Pashinian’s party did not gain a “monopoly on power,” apparently alluding to the official results that showed it winning just under half of the vote.
“Moreover, compared to the previous electoral cycle, its support [by Armenians] has noticeably declined,” she claimed.
Russian-Armenian tensions rose further in the run-up to the June 7 elections, with Moscow saying that Yerevan can no longer remain part of a Russian-led trade bloc while seeking to eventually join the EU. It imposed de facto bans on the vast majority of Armenian-made products exported to Russia.
Pashinian criticized the embargo during the election campaign while downplaying its impact on the Armenian economy and pledging to get the Russians to lift it shortly after the polls. He said he is planning to visit Moscow for more talks with Putin.
Zakharova said that further Russian actions depend on “real steps taken by the Armenian leadership.” The latter should not “lead the country to further division and socio-economic upheaval,” she warned.
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