Russia has blocked the sale of over 70,000 bottles of imported Armenian water and soft drinks, including the Bjni mineral water, Prosto Azbuka natural drinking water, and the Mohito non-alcoholic carbonated drink, citing alleged health risks and product violations.

The imports were banned on the orders of Russia’s consumer protection and public health regulator, Rospotrebnadzor.

Armenia’s State Service For Food Safety told RFE/RL that it was still waiting for an official explanation from Rospotrebnadzor.

This is the latest in a series of Russian trade restrictions on Armenian goods as part of Moscow’s economic pressure on Armenia surrounding the Armenian parliamentary elections, which took place in June 2026.

In late May, Russia restricted imports of certain berries and fresh vegetables from Armenia. Prior to that, it suspended the sale of alcoholic beverages from several Armenian producers, claiming they did ‘not meet mandatory requirements’. Russia has also fully banned the import and sale of Armenian Jermuk mineral water.

Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have also explicitly and repeatedly warned Armenia of the consequences of leaving the EAEU as it continues to push for warmer ties with the West and EU.

Beyond trade restrictions, Russia has also signaled potential consequences within other multilateral frameworks Armenia is part of. On 4 August, Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) envoy Viktor Vasilev said that the bloc’s 11 November summit in Moscow will likely discuss suspending Armenia’s voting rights over unpaid dues.

However, any such move would require the consensus of all members. Armenia stopped paying dues in 2025 and has since February 2024 frozen its participation in the CSTO, accusing the organisation of failing to support it militarily or politically following Azerbaijan’s incursion into Armenian territory in 2022.