Zhoghovurd: Why was Pashinyan-Putin meeting held after elections in Armenia?

In a recent interview with the paper, Russian political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov shared his thoughts over Nikol Pashinyan’s working visit to Moscow, noting that the acting prime minister’s meeting with Russian president took place after the snap parliamentary elections in Armenia.

“The settlement process is extensive indeed given that the negotiations over unblocking [the communication channels] and the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are an integral part of it. Armenia and Russia need to consider all those issues which, some way or another, deal with the region per se,” he said.

The analyst stressed the importance of similar meetings especially in the context of unblocking transport communications, highlighting the priority focus on the situation along Armenia’s eastern border, the lifting of blockade and the establishment of peace.

Noting that the kind of statement was made against the backdrop of the recently agreed plan for deploying Russian troops along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the paper calls attention to the “revolutionary” government’s strikingly emphasized pro-Russian attitudes (which it claims is the “highest ever” since Armenia’s independence). “It is the Russian Federation that dictates Nikol Pashinyan’s political and our country’s security agenda. In return, the Republic of Armenia declares plans for reducing the personnel of its national army,” the paper says, commenting on the reports.