Russian Foreign Ministry points to uneasy period of relations between Moscow and Yerevan because of the West

Relations between Russia and Armenia are undergoing a difficult period due to Western pressure on Yerevan. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry on January 24, responding to media questions received for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's press conference on the results of Russian diplomacy in 2024.

"Russian-Armenian relations are going through a difficult period. In many respects, it is a consequence of the West's actions, which last year increased pressure on Armenia, incited it to destroy traditional ties with Russia, imposed values alien to the Armenian people," the publication reads.

As the ministry noted, Yerevan believed in the unsupported promises of Washington and Brussels to replace Russia for Armenia. While in reality it is the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that ensures Yerevan's security, and membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a guarantee of economic prosperity.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly warned Armenia about the indifference of the United States and the European Union (EU) to the fate and interests of their partners. This is confirmed by the events in Georgia, which unfolded at the end of 2024, and the cynical statements about Armenian citizens spread by foreign media, the ministry explained.

Eurasian economic integration and EU membership are incompatible, the ministry's press service once again reminded.

" Moscow has always cherished and continues to cherish brotherly relations with Yerevan. We consider the republic one of our natural strategic partners and allies," the Russian Foreign Ministry summarized.

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What this means for Yerevan's partnership with the EAEU and Moscow

On the eve of January 23, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Yerevan has not yet announced its intention to leave the CSTO. According to him, the topic of Armenia's reinstatement in the organization was not discussed during the last conversation between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, on December 18, 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Armenia will leave the CSTO when it receives a signal from Washington. Armenian Prime Minister said during the government hour in Parliament on December 4 that the country considers itself outside the CSTO and no longer participates in decision-making in the organization.

Armenia's relations with the CSTO escalated in November 2022, when the Transcaucasian republic's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan refused to sign the CSTO draft declaration "On Joint Measures to Assist the Republic of Armenia" due to the lack of a clear political assessment of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Pashinyan.