No geopolitical context behind Armenia's 'velvet revolution', Prime Minister tells Russia Today  

The power transition processes that followed the 'velvet revolution' in Armenia were not motivated by geopolitical interests, Pime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a televised interview in Moscow.

Speaking to Russia Today, he ruled out any external influence, dismissing the speculations over possible attempts to provoke anti-Russian sentiments in the country. “There are people who want to present all this in a different light. All they want is to practically insist that an authoritarian regime has come to power. But there wasn't absolutely any geopolitical or external political context behind the Armenian revolution. There wasn’t any geopolitical conspiracy. It was a purely domestic process [linked to the political situation] in Armenia,” he said, highlighting the absence of any foreign policy component.

“We must bring our actions in line with the frameworks and content inherent in the political process of the ‘velvet revolution’,” the prime minister added.

He also highly praised the progressively developing Armenian-Russian relations.

“We maintain very good and direct relations. I can describe them as relations without dark corners. We discuss everything very explicitly, raising all the questions in a straightforward way - and responding to them very straightforwardly.”

Pashinhyan said he doesn't for now see problematic points in the bilateral partnership. “We do not have any problematic issues at the moment. Both Russia and Armenia are sovereign countries. And I think that our interests match on many points - although they may be split when it comes to certain specific nuances. The important thing is the atmosphere in which we will be discussing them. I think we will be able to reach an agreement,” Pashinyan added.