“The main goal of Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow was to understand Russia’s position and not so much to simply receive a “dabro” – 168․ammentioned in a conversation with cultural technologist, analyst Vigen Hakobyanelaborating, “For Nikol Pashinyan, the behavior of all geopolitical and regional players was approximately calculable and predictable, except for Russia’s position.”

The geotechnical expert noted that, for example, although it is clear for Pashinyan that Europe supports him, unfortunately for him, Europe is not particularly represented on the ground in our region, and the maximum that Europeans can do from a political point of view is to turn a blind eye to all possible illegalities of Pashinyan, etc.

According to him, it is objectively not necessary to wait for the activity of the USA and Iran in this matter. “They are quite mixed.”

“He is confident in the support of Azerbaijan and Turkey. There remains the position of the Russian Federation, which is completely unpredictable in the sense that the chain of possibilities of Russia is large, starting from doing nothing, ending with doing something. That’s why he decided to meet Putin to understand his mood,” Vigen Hakobyan remarked.

To the question, what did Pashinyan understand, the cultural technologist answered: “I think he realized that he has quite serious problems with Russia.”

The expert drew attention to the format of the meeting, noting that usually the official part of the meeting does not last long, while in this case it was longer, stretching for about 20-25 minutes.

“This reminded me more of the Trump-Zelensky meeting. Of course, the matter here did not reach a direct debate, and also with the difference that, if Zelensky was not given lunch in the White House, Pashinyan was given that meal.

Putin immediately went to the agenda, started with the election topics, and put forward the entire problematic agenda himself. energy, gas supply, relations with the European Union, political persecution of pro-Russian figures. Putin immediately set a condition to forget about the Moldovan scenario, etc.”

Vigen Hakobyan considers the reference to the issue of Artsakh to be remarkable, noting that by doing so, Putin recorded that the Karabakh issue is not closed.

“In fact, Putin raised all the complicated issues at once, without giving them a chance to avoid it. It was quite a sharp conversation,” added the civil technologist.

I think Pashinyan was advised by his outside curators to behave the way Zelensky behaved with Trump. It was the same tactic: counter-speech, sometimes insulting, just to create an image of a hero, someone who does not give up to the internal audience, but, I suppose, as in the case of Zelensky, the consequences can be the same here too,” the analyst summed up.

—

Nikol Pashinyan, perhaps, realized that it was too early to “remove” the Russian factor in the political processes of Armenia and rushed to Moscow in order to secure his power. 168 TVof Revue expressed this opinion on the air of the program Political scientist Suren Surenyants, chairman of the “Democratic Alternative” partyspeaking about the topic of the Pashinyan-Putin meeting that took place in Moscow.

“There are upcoming elections, and Nikol Pashinyan would like to insure himself against possible risks coming from Moscow, but in my opinion, there is a much more global reason, that is, the developments taking place around Iran have created a certain security vacuum in the region and, in particular, around Armenia, because in case of some of the most probable developments of the Iranian war, TRIPP loses its perspective, it becomes very vague, and the whole so-called philosophy of peace was built by Nikol Pashinyan. right on TRIPP.

Perhaps he realized that he had “written off” Russia ahead of time, and rushed to Moscow in order to correct some problems and secure his power. I consider the last version to be more credible. In other words, he realized that all his propaganda, his myths and legends about peace are on the verge of collapse, and in this case, the Russian factor can be especially important,” believes Suren Surenyants.

He is not at all surprised by the content of the conversation that took place in front of the cameras in the Kremlin yesterday and the fact that even in the public part of the negotiations, the Russian president spoke in open text about many, many issues, in particular, he hinted at his dissatisfaction with the processes taking place in Armenia, the imprisonment of Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian citizen, in relation to the complaints against the CSTO, he reminded Pashinyan’s recognition of Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, or, so to speak, “turned his face” on the relatively low level of Russian gas. prices, volumes of Armenian-Russian trade turnover, Armenia dependence of the economy on Russia, etc.

According to the political scientist, in the end, the time has come for Nikol Pashinyan to face the consequences of his adventure.

“We used to say that you can’t endlessly put all your eggs in one basket, in this case, the Western one, and expect that it won’t have any effect on Armenian-Russian relations. Yes, yesterday’s meeting was very open, even in the public part, and probably a surprise for many, because they spoke openly about topics that complete the current crisis in Armenian-Russian relations. Let’s talk very directly. Yes, there was a small component of “toast diplomacy” and the deep Armenian-Russian relations were emphasized on both sides, but next to that “toast diplomacy” and even more pointedly, the existing problems were discussed in a very open, very public way. What was Putin saying, and it was perhaps the most unpleasant for Pashinyan, because it revealed the bankruptcy of Pashinyan’s policy.

He described the great dependence of Armenia’s economy on Russia, particularly on trade with Russia and on energy sources. Putin rightly said that Russia sells gas to European countries for 600 dollars per 1000 cubic meters, and in the case of Armenia, the price is 177.5 dollars.

How many times have I or my other colleagues said on the air that this adventure will have a price, that is, the Russian president was very clearly implying that if, for example, Russia decides to deal with Armenia through market mechanisms instead of a friendly attitude, by the way, Overchuk said something similar today, how long will the Armenian economy last?

I am not saying if the price of gas reaches 600 dollars, can you imagine if it is even 250-300 dollars, instead of today’s 177.5, what kind of collapse will Armenia’s economy undergo? “Russia clearly makes it clear that it has the tools to influence Armenia’s policy, of course, diplomatically noting that it is Armenia’s right to make a choice,” says Surenyants.

Let’s remind that yesterday, on March 31, the talks between Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the Russian Federation took place in the Kremlin in Moscow. Vladimir Putin in his speech during the meeting referred to Armenian-Russian relations, the volume of bilateral trade turnover, which according to the data presented by Putin, amounted to 6.4 billion US dollars in 2025, and 11 billion dollars in 2024, the price of gas sold to Armenia, the incompatibility of EAEU-EU membership, the CSTO and Artsakh issue and the internal political processes in Armenia and the upcoming parliamentary elections. The head of the Kremlin hinted at the imprisonment of Russian citizen Samvel Karapetyan and expressed hope that all political parties with a pro-Russian attitude in Armenia will be able to participate in the elections. Pashinyan, for his part, answered that “there are no participants in political processes in our places of imprisonment”, and that according to the RA Constitution, only those citizens who have exclusively Armenian passports can participate in the elections.

Full interview in the video.

—

Satik Seyranyan’s guest in the “Pressing” program is religious scholar, sociologist and philosopher Vardan Khachatryan.

The main theses of the interview are below.

• When one of the greatest preachers I know, who did a great work in Africa, came to Armenia, he asked me to take him to Etchmiadzin. The Cathedral was not yet renovated. He himself entered, looked at the dark walls and raised his hands, which is not characteristic of Protestants… He surrendered to the sacred, sacred identity of the Armenian people…

• It is not possible to act in the sphere of the spiritual with push and fists, under no circumstances, because it will cause a crack, which cannot and cannot be filled in any way. Spiritual unity cannot be broken. No choice should have anything to do with a singular moment that holds eternity within it. What happened inside the Saint Anna church was an unacceptable process… The church is the cradle, the tabernacle of light, from which the Armenian Christian crowd is fed.

• You can be a participant in the liturgy, a communicator from the last rows, why do you break through the crowd and go to the first rows… There are no high and low people in the world religion, there are believers. It was an excess. It doesn’t matter where you stand during Mass… 

• Only the Mormon choir sings the canonical version of the American national anthem. 1/3 of the population of the USA is in the Mormon sphere, they have a significant weight. 

• The mechanism of violence works to ensure the reproduction of power as much as possible. There is a prosecutor’s office, a thousand and one institutions that ensure the institutional protection of the government, but it cannot be abused.

• It is impossible to find such a people, such a center of gravity, as the Armenians have on the face of the earth.

• Where there is money and power, there is vice, but one cannot look for vice in a power that has internal wealth. these are the words of Confucius.

• Sitting next to Putin with his imagined map of Armenia on his chest meant that Armenia will maintain the foreign policy line it has followed until now. It wasn’t for Putin, it was a photo shoot in front of the cameras, a symbol that will later be able to play during the election campaign.:

• We tried to sign the European Association Agreement (CEPA), and one of the key points in it, for example, was that Armenia would be given a privilege to import light industrial products to Europe, which happened in the case of Georgia. At least I haven’t seen any country that signed up to the euro association that didn’t end badly. What happened to Georgia… Nothing, they said, the level of Georgian wines does not correspond to the level of European wines. That’s it. Georgians lost the huge Russian market, gained nothing in the European market. The French company “Pernod Ricard” bought the Georgian winery, which sold in pennies, because he considered that if the Russian market does not exist, they do not claim any results. Now let’s think about what can replace the Russian market in our case.

• Europe is not the Europe of today, which can do everything and digest. A mega war against Iran has taken place today, and it is not yet known how it will end. America is ready to sacrifice the last American to win that war, just like Europe, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson, declared that it was necessary to sacrifice the last Ukrainian to win against the Russians.

• Yesterday’s meeting between Pashinyan and Putin was perhaps the toughest. that was what yesterday’s leitmotif suggested.

• Europe understands that its relationship with the US is in jeopardy. In this case, Europe can have ambitions of future rise only through China, and this can happen only over Azerbaijan, based on which we have to consider our possible steps. Is this compatible with our interests?

• I don’t understand, brother, how Turkey became our friend… every thought of that country is only to slaughter more Armenians.

• Didn’t the Armenian people see the fortune of Syria? If we must learn wisdom and experience only from our own mistakes, we will perish:

• According to Pashinyan, what is Europe and where does he want to go? Is there any analytical document, is there an analysis that, for example, the structure of the economy of Germany, France or Austria is such that we can have a presence there? 

• The 42 km that we have given, TRIPP, will we be able to control in any way, check what they are carrying: weapons or something else? Once you try, the site will become an open road against our interests, which will not be stopped in any way. It’s another thing if all the roads are unblocked. Whatever economic benefit there may be, it will not be 1/100th of the benefits brought by the Russian market. Yesterday, Putin told Pashinyan: think, if you want to leave your interests and get problems, you are free in your choice… 

• Europe is dependent, it even freed its automobile industry, European cars are produced in the USA and China:

• Either we will take small steps forward, or we will take large steps in the most dangerous direction for us. The emerging new world will not have the outcomes we imagine.

• The scenario of Moldova was possible at that time. Yesterday, Putin hinted that the Moldovan scenario would not work. Make a fair election, the results will be recognized by all, but if there will be an artificial mosaic, you will have problems in the emerging world.

• Folks, a multi-polar world means wars will continue, and we won’t avoid it, no matter how much we want to. If we cannot prepare for war, the anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan and Turkey will not change:

• Putin did not say that Russian citizens should come and run in the elections, but this does not mean that the forces that have a Russian orientation should be persecuted in Armenia.:

• Today, two powers, two poles have been created: incredibly rising China, which cannot be impoverished because it has Russia as an ally, and Iran, which is a unique translator of the Eurasian continent. We will face the dangers of the emerging world, and there will be no questioning. We don’t need to stand out at this moment by immediate decisions: we belong to this or that army. We have always distinguished ourselves as a nation of the third bell. You don’t have to forget that.

• If you can fit into the newly formed China-Russia-Iran axis, you will have achievements that you never dreamed of. Overchuk was saying that, will you be in the core of those interests, will you have more, won’t you, will you have losses? Today’s world cannot imagine otherwise. Everyone will act in the focus of their interests. 

• If after what happened to us, we have to believe that the Turkic-speaking peoples will serve the Armenian interests, then long live the Turks. You don’t have to commit suicide. If you gouge out your eyes with your own fingers, do not complain that you are blind:

• It is the delusion of a drunkard. what does it mean: you will come, fight for us, give us money too?

• The rating of the Armenian Apostolic Church is more than 80%. Does any other institution or individual claim more, have a higher reputation?

• Did that person want to breed crocodiles? But didn’t they know that crocodile meat causes infertility in men?

• Today, the world is divided into parts, and it is as a result of united action that the United States did not succeed in Iran. There will no longer be a hegemonic state in the world. There is no longer that possibility. Why does Iran say that oil should be sold in yuan? it’s not Iran saying it, China is saying it. The new world will have nothing to do with the replica of the previous world:

• Iran cannot settle for anything other than a peace document guaranteeing an undisputed peace that reflects Iran’s vital interests. Russia does the same in the case of Ukraine. This is the result of a unified approach. Iran cannot allow them to leave now and come again in 6 months.

• Let’s not forget that when Nazarbayev left Kazakhstan, he went to Turkey. Let’s also not forget that when Nikol Pashinyan was the chairman of the CSTO, and the attempted uprising in Kazakhstan was suppressed, Erdogan announced that the bony hands of Armenians and Russians came to seize and strangle the diamond of Turkic-speaking peoples, Kazakhstan. The Turkic world is an emerging phenomenon that will blast Russia from the south, isolate China from the railways and conventional roads it has built. Should we become a satellite of these hostile actions?:

• We will always be faced with a dilemma, and let that not scare anyone, if you are knowledgeable, understand trends and trends, you will not go wrong. And if there is no strategy, where are you going…

Details in the video.

—