Category: News

Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Armenia’s European aspirations, declaring that Armenia’s plans to join the European Union “require special consideration”.

“We have discussed this with Prime Minister Pashinyan more than once, and we do not see anything special. In fact, and he will confirm, I have already told him several times and now I can publicly repeat: we will support everything that is beneficial to the Armenian people,” Putin said, continuing, if this or that decision is beneficial to the Armenian people, Russia will not be against it.

At the same time, the Russian President pointed out some circumstances, which, according to him, are important both for him and for his partners. “For example, our trade turnover with Armenia has decreased now, it was much more last year, the year before, but still $7 billion in 2025. If we take into account that the country’s GDP is 29 billion, it is a serious amount, and Armenia receives significant advantages within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union,” Putin said. According to him, it would be right to take a decision as soon as possible, for example, to hold a referendum, in relation to the population of Armenia, its citizens, or in relation to Russia as the main economic partner. He believes that it is none of their business, but continues that it would be fundamentally logical to hold a referendum and ask the citizens of Armenia what their choice would be. “According to that, we would also draw appropriate conclusions and go the way of a soft, intelligent and mutually beneficial divorce,” Putin stated.

He said that he proposed to discuss Armenia’s plans related to the European Union at the next EAEU summit. However, Pashinyan announced that he will not participate in the session of the Supreme Council of EAEU to be held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on May 28-29. The Prime Minister explained it with a campaign. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan will replace him at the session.

Spread in parallel EU Enlargement Commissioner Martha Kosi reference to RA aspirations. Kos noted that Europe will support Armenia in its aspirations to become a member of the EU.

“Only the people of Armenia can decide their future. The last meeting of the European political community, as well as the EU-Armenia summit, showed the way they want to go, and Europe will support them,” said Kos.

During today’s briefing, Pashinyan announced that RA will not put such an issue on the agenda until there is no need to hold elections. “I don’t agree with inappropriate wording either. I also had occasion to say in the National Assembly that we sometimes confuse interstate relations with marriage. In interstate relations, the Republic of Armenia is guided by interstate logic, and we are an equal member of the EAEU, just like other members, as long as we are a EAEU member, we fully participate in all decision-making. Until the need arises, we are not going to ask such a question. we will hold a referendum when it is necessary,” Pashinyan said.

He emphasized once again, “we have not had, do not have and will not have the goal of harming the interests of Russia.”

“We will continue to be guided by the state interests of the Republic of Armenia and we will continue to deepen and develop our relations with the Russian Federation with the understanding that an inevitable transformation is taking place in those relations,” Pashinyan noted, continuing to deepen our future relations with the European Union and moving according to the logic of the law on starting the EU membership process, that is, continuing the democratic reforms.

Vladimir Putin’s use of the term “soft and intelligent bridegroom” is not accidental. it testifies to Moscow’s clear strategy. If in the past Russia tried to use certain levers to stop Armenia’s drift towards the West, now it is playing an “open cards” game, putting Yerevan in front of an ultimatum. The proposal to hold a referendum is also remarkable, by which the Russian authorities make it clear that the government should not make a single decision on this matter.

With these references, Moscow makes it clear that the period of “sitting on two chairs” is over, and economic privileges are directly linked to political loyalty.

Տնտեսական գործոնը՝ որպես ճնշման հիմնական գործիք, մնում է Կրեմլի ձեռքին։

Putin’s mention of RA GDP and trade turnover figures is a warning about the possible economic price that Armenia will have to pay for EU membership candidacy. In this context, the intention to discuss the issue of Armenia at the next EAEU summit can be considered as the application of the “collective pressure” mechanism, where Moscow will try to show Yerevan’s isolation through the other members of the union, while maintaining the European vector.

Pashinyan’s government is trying to delay the final moment of “either-or” as much as possible, hoping to maintain economic ties with Russia in a situation where European integration has no clear perspective. However, Pashinyan’s absence from the Astana summit once again highlights the deepening of the political divide, which is already difficult to hide even under the most flexible diplomatic formulations.

As for the future course, Armenia is entering a difficult phase of foreign policy, where Russia is putting questions to Armenia at the highest level. The EU, represented by Martha Kos, promises support, but the tools and speed of this support are still disproportionate to the challenges that may arise as a result of even a so-called “soft rapprochement” with Russia. According to experts, Armenia will not be able to diversify its economy and security system in a short period of time, so the “moment of choice” pushed by Moscow can turn into a source of internal political and economic shocks, taking into account the presence of Russian leverage.

The situation suggests that in the coming months, the developments surrounding the elections for Armenia will be sharp in a situation where Armenia is preparing for national elections.  The “intelligent divorce” offered by Russia is just a formulation, the Russian leader makes it clear that European integration will deprive Armenia of economic privileges and advantages, that is, essential resources, which are obtained due to Armenia’s EAEU membership, cheap gas prices, and a number of other privileges.

Moscow makes it clear that Armenia may be deprived of vital economic resources, which, according to calculations, should force Yerevan to either maintain its current foreign policy line, going through major challenges, or reconsider its foreign policy ambitions. However, the remarkable thing is that Yerevan perfectly understands that Armenia will not have a prospect of European integration in the foreseeable future. That is the reason why Pashinyan talks about the need to carry out reforms, without clearly formulating Armenia’s aspiration for EU membership. This, as a goal, is not interesting to Brussels, therefore, Yerevan does not raise the topic either.

This harsh rhetoric of Putin follows the 8th summit of the European Political Community, which was hosted in Armenia in 2026. on May 4. This was the first time when the entire European elite and the Secretary General of NATO gathered in the capital of a CSTO member country. Putin’s reaction days after the summit aims to neutralize the political effect left by that event and show that the “real” decision-maker in the region is still Russia.

Another crucial factor in 2026. Parliamentary elections to be held on June 7. Armenia is in the hot pre-election phase, and the Kremlin is trying to make the issue of the foreign political vector a part of the pre-election discourse.  The EPC summit in Yerevan became the point that forced Moscow to open ultimatums, making it clear that the price to be paid for the European perspective would be significant.

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The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ruben Rubinyan, a member of the CP, recently submitted the declaration of property, income, expenses and interests for 2025 to the Corruption Prevention Commission.

According to the declaration, the ruling deputy started and ended the accounting year with two real estates: an apartment and a parking lot, which he bought in 2024 and manages alone.

During the year, Ruben Rubinyan purchased securities from “Armeconombank” OJSC, the value of which at the end of the year was 6,059,664 drams in one case, and 4,091,492 drams in the other.

Bank deposits also had the following movement during the year. 2.5 million drams available at the beginning of the year doubled at the end of the year, and another deposit of 5 million drams was reduced to zero at the end of the year, the balance of the bank accounts was 2,784,178 drams at the beginning of the year, and 1,453,247.31 drams at the end of the year.

Ruben Rubinyan’s income of about 23 million drams (22,847,308.9) for the reporting year was formed from the salary of 17 million 886,240 drams received from the National Assembly and or equivalent payments, from the 549,339 drams he received from Inecobank, which was mentioned as interest received for loans or bank deposits and other compensation received from the same bank. 80,915.9 drams from other incomes, 2,830,814 drams from the income tax refund received from the Ministry of Finance and 1,500,000 drams from the loan (loan) received from “HAYECONOMBANK” OJSC.

As of December 31 of the reporting year, the balance of the principal amount of loans and borrowings was AMD 31,932,332.6. during the year, he directed 5,236,971.4 drams to repay the loan.

Rubinyan did not mention cash.

Rubinyan’s wife, Mariam Haji-Hakobyan, did not declare real estate, but the property of the ML mining development company In the declaration, a loan of 13,291,053 drams was mentioned, and in another line, the object of the mortgage was the apartment and the amount of the principal amount of the loan of 12,970,311 drams.

His income of 4,745,527 drams for the reporting year was formed from 414,600 drams of other income received from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1,185,507 drams from the income tax refund received from Finnakh, 254 thousand drams from other incomes received from an individual, and 2,891,420 drams from the salary and or equivalent payments received from the National Assembly (we had the opportunity to mention earlier, that he also works in the National Assembly).

One of the two bank deposits of Rubinyan’s wife was 1,266 dollars at the beginning of the year, which slightly increased to 1,417.25 dollars at the end of the year, and the dram deposit, 1,560,000 drams, was preserved at the end of the year.

Mariam Haji-Hakobyan’s bank account balances and cash have also slightly increased at the end of the year.

The balance of bank accounts became 642,607.4 AMD from 249,239.53 AMD.

And the cash amount: 350,000 drams – 450,000 drams, 900 dollars – 1200 dollars.

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Pashinyan’s government is once again revealing its true face and priorities. at a time when the country is burdened with agricultural problems, the government takes the funds intended for “supporting the investment projects implemented in the livestock sector” and directs them to another PR event of the government.

At the May 7 session of the government, it was decided to allocate 684 million drams for holding the “Concours Mondial de Brussels 2026” international wine tasting-competition in Armenia.as we have already mentioned, reducing the support of livestock investment programs to the same extent. Moreover, the initiative to redistribute funds from this program belongs to the RA Ministry of Economy.

According to the data presented to the government session, the event will be held in Armenia in 2026. May 19-23 K. in the sports concert complex named after Demirchyan. About 400 guests from 65 countries are expected, including journalists, bloggers, sommeliers and experts. More than 8,000 wines from more than 60 countries will be presented at the tasting competition. A B2B (business to business) meeting will be organized for 120 wholesale buyers and 50 local producers.

The Concours Mondial de Brussels 2026 is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious international wine competitions, which has been held over the years in countries from Belgium to Croatia, Mexico and China. The problem is not the rating of the event, but the incomprehensible and questionable waste of state funds in its name.

The most important question here is: why will the same event cost more than 1.5 million euros (684 million drams) for taxpayers in Armenia, when in other countries its main state organizational costs usually amounted to three times less approximately 400-500 thousand euros, and never exceeded 600 thousand euros։

Moreover, if in other countries these costs were planned for a jury of about 300 people (for transportation, hotel, food and recreation costs, which make up a significant part of the total costs), then in the case of Armenia, according to Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, the number of the jury and main participants is around 200.

In other words, the participants are fewer, but the amount is several times larger. The question arises, where will that difference go?

There is no detailed explanation in the decision as to what exactly the hundreds of millions will be spent on. How much will be the fee for conducting the competition? What are the costs of hotel, transportation, PR, advertising or information campaigns? The public is once again faced with the “trust us” principle, which has already become commonplace for the government, when it comes to huge state funds.

In other words, during the reign of Nikol Pashinyan, we are once again dealing with a situation when the state is ready to pay three times more to organize an international show, without presenting the clear structure of the costs to the public.

The choice of venue is also a separate issue. In international practice, halls with natural lighting are chosen for such tasting-competitions, because the evaluation of wine color and shades is an important component of the professional process. However, K. was elected in Armenia. Sports concert complex named after Demirchyan, an expensive, demonstrative, but obviously inconvenient area from a professional point of view. This once again shows that the priority for the government is not the quality organization of the event, but showing “scales”. It is not excluded that under the name of similar international events, a part of state funds is simply “written off” to be used for pre-election purposes. There is no doubt that, even if the current government does not take advantage of this “opportunity”, there is a clear pre-election calculation in this story. international guests, high-level events, media noise, selfies with beautiful views… All of these will naturally be used as pre-election propaganda, especially considering the dates of the event.

The government will undoubtedly try to convince the public that it is about raising Armenia’s international reputation. However, the reputation of the state is not built by expensive shows and demonstration events. It is built with transparent management, accountable and responsible government and justified spending of state funds. When money is cut from agricultural programs in order for the government to implement an international PR event, the public has the right not only to ask questions, but also to suspect that the real goal is not the benefit of Armenia, but the political reproduction of the government.

Until the government presents a clear and detailed report on the expenditure of every dram, until it explains how it turned out that in the case of Armenia, the organization of the event is three times more expensive than usual, this story will continue to be perceived not as a national success project and an opportunity for Armenian winemakers to enter the international market, but as another expensive government propaganda campaign paid for by taxpayers.

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