Commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s words on the conflict in Ukraine, Peskov said that the Kremlin knows and takes into account Armenia’s stance on the conflict in Ukraine, and that there are some nuances in this.
“This is an important announcement. We know that there are some nuances in Armenia’s approach to the Ukraine conflict. We take these into account, we know. But of course we continue to develop our conceptual allied relations with Armenia,” he said.
said.
In an interview with CNN Prima News the previous night, Pashinyan said that Yerevan is not an ally of Moscow in the conflict in Ukraine.
“You said we are allies of Russia. Of course, this was never said out loud, but I think it’s noticeable. “We are not Russia’s ally in the war with Ukraine,” he said.
Pashinyan added that this conflict concerns Yerevan and directly affects relations with Moscow.
According to him, the West sees Armenia as an ally of Russia in the conflict in Ukraine, while Moscow understands that this is not the case.
“It turns out that we are nobody’s ally in this situation, so we are vulnerable,” he said.
Yerevan, in his own words, is trying to maneuver in the current situation, because Armenia cannot afford to be involved in solving other people’s problems. But the prime minister added that there is less and less room for maneuver.
CSTO issue
One of the problem areas in the relations between Moscow and Yerevan is Armenia’s membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. On May 22, Pashinyan allowed Armenia to withdraw from the CSTO. According to him, the trust of Armenian citizens in Russia, the largest member of the CSTO, is decreasing.
“If Armenia decides to legally withdraw from the CSTO, it will be after Yerevan registers that the CSTO has left Armenia. I can’t say that the topic is out of the agenda, as long as there is a topic that needs to be discussed, it is being discussed, isn’t it? – said.
Yerevan’s stance on the CSTO is linked to the organization’s demands for a monitoring group to be sent to Armenia on the Azerbaijani border. According to CSTO press secretary Vladimir Zainetdinov, the organization has previously reported that it is working to create a monitoring group, a document about it is “at the highest level”. However, it was not approved because the member states of the organization refused to make a political assessment of Azerbaijan’s actions in its conflict with Armenia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that sending a mission should not be associated with condemning Baku: “If we are talking about condemnation, rhetoric, position presentation, then everyone is free to do what they want. But if we want to send the CSTO mission, it’s not because of external signs and harsh statements.”
sanctions
In May, Pashinyan, in an interview with Respekt’s Czech publication, said that Western sanctions against Russia are a “red line” for Armenia. “We are telling the Russians openly: We do not want to harm you, but we cannot afford to be subject to sanctions. According to Armenpress, Pashinyan, there is no secret here.
However, according to him, Armenia tries to be “as transparent as possible” about the sanctioned goods and cooperates with the European Union, USA and Russia.
Citing the UN, The Wall Street Journal wrote that last year the United States and the European Union supplied more than $8.5 million of integrated circuits to Armenia, which is 16 times the export volume of this terminology in 2021. In contrast, exports from Armenia to the Russian Federation rose from under $2,000 to $13 million. However, the Armenian government rejects Russia’s assistance in circumventing the sanctions.
In addition, the Financial Times reported that after the start of the military special operation in Ukraine, 2 billion dollars worth of goods from the EU through Russia passed through Russia, and that my final destinations were in Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, about half of the cargo did not reach the receiving countries.
In April, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed export restrictions on companies from Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Armenia and many other countries as they “try to evade export controls” and purchase American goods for Russia’s needs.