On 7 July, Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for the first time after the parliamentary elections in Armenia.
At the meeting Putin congratulated Pashinyan on his party’s victory in the elections. Putin said that victory is important for anyone, and first and foremost, for Armenia and the people of Armenia, “considering that such complicated and sensitive issues can only be resolved if one has the opportunity to work effectively.”
“What matters most is to have the people’s trust. You have it as evidenced by the election results. This is extremely important; in fact, this is the most important thing. This is probably the most important precondition for development in such challenging times for the country. I congratulate you sincerely. I hope that today we will be able to talk both formally and informally during a working lunch about issues that we have discussed thoroughly of late and that call for prompt response,” Putin was quoted as saying by the Armenian government press office.
Recalling that it was their third meeting this year in Moscow, Pashinyan said it reflects the good dynamics of relations between the two countries. “We have regretfully been discussing security issues very often and a lot in recent times due to regional instabilities. I must say that the situation has been stabilised ever since the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, though some hotbeds of instability arise from time to time. The situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is still not very stable, and we mentioned this on several occasions. Unfortunately, here too, we have had a hotbed of continued anxiety for the last two months. I hope that today we will be able to synchronize our watches on this issue,” Pashinyan was quoted. “I still have to state that, unfortunately, the issue of prisoners of war has not yet been fully resolved, although there is some good news: 15 Armenian prisoners of war were repatriated just a few days ago, and I want to highlight and appreciate your personal role,” he added.
“There is some good news in the field of economics as well. I hope you remember that as early as in 2019, we discussed issues related to the activities of the South Caucasus Railway in Yerevan, and I must say that today the renewal of railway trains in Armenia is in full swing. This is really very good news, because a large investment project is being implemented at this point of time. The exports from Armenia to Russia are growing after a Covid 19-affected year. Also, I want to thank you for your personal support in delivering the Sputnik-V vaccine to Armenia,” Pashinyan also emphasised.
On the same day when the meeting between Pashinyan and Putin was held, the governor of the Armenian Gegharkunik province Gnel Sanosyan stated that Russia had begun preparations for deploying its troops in the region at border with Azerbaijan. According to Sanosian, the deployment will be followed by the withdrawal of both Armenian and Azerbaijani troops from contested border sections and the start of Russian-mediated talks on the demarcation of the long frontier.
This statement was afterwards confirmed by Russia’s ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin. “I think that everything will be determined by the interests of Armenia's security, by the interests ensuring stability on the border and the interests of implementing the agreements that have been reached by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Kopyrkin stated.
