Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said there were grounds for Russia no longer to be viewed as his country's strategic partner.
Answering questions from journalists in Yerevan, Pashinyan accused Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of failing to fulfill their security obligations during the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in September 2022.
Pashinyan justified his position by asking: "How can we say that we have a strategic partnership with Russia after the events of September 2022?"
The Armenian prime minister said that if the government's 2026–2031 program defined Russia as a strategic partner, they would face the question of why Moscow and the CSTO had failed to fulfill their security obligations in September 2022.
Yerevan will maintain dialogue with Moscow
The program submitted by the Armenian government to parliament envisages continuing dialogue with Russia to sustain mutually beneficial, multisectoral cooperation. The document also outlines plans for Yerevan to transform its relations with Moscow under the new conditions created by the establishment of peace in the region and to pursue a balanced foreign policy.
Pashinyan, who presented the program to parliament, described the transformation of relations between Armenia and Russia as a natural process emerging after peace was established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Moscow’s interpretation of its security obligations
Russian officials argue that the security obligations did not cover Karabakh, which is recognized under international law as Azerbaijani territory. They say those obligations concerned only Armenia’s own territory, thereby presenting a view contrary to Pashinyan’s assessment.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have experienced a series of wars and border clashes in the Karabakh region within Azerbaijan’s borders since the late 1980s. Azerbaijan regained control over all of its territory in the region in 2023.
