News - Armenia PM: We don't want to argue with Russia

I want to make a special reference to the Armenia-Russia interstate relations, which are obviously not experiencing their best times, but whose importance for our statehood, sovereignty, security, and economy is hard to overestimate. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this in his address Wednesday during the parliamentary debates on the performance of the Armenian government in 2023. "Today we [i.e. Armenia] really did not take any wrong step in our relations with Russia. There is no place where our [Russian] colleagues can accuse us of not fulfilling our obligations. The opposite cases are unfortunately numerous. But I want to emphasize also that we do not want to argue with Russia, not only because we do not have the opportunity and strength do so, but because we value the enormous positive that was and is in our relations. But it is also important to understand what is happening in our relations in a deep and conceptual sense and why. In my assessment, the same thing is happening: a transition from historical Armenia-Russia relations to real Armenia-Russia relations is taking place. It is sometimes as painful as our internal transformation from historical Armenia to real Armenia. But it is happening, and everything should be done to fill this transformation with positive stories, and we are ready for such work with Russia," said Pashinyan. He announced that the agreement reached during his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2018 was as follows: Armenia-Russia relations will be based on respect for each other's sovereignty, national interests and pursuits, and he is ready for such a dialogue.