Armenian leadership needs to decide which chair it sits on – Yelena Panina

On the sidelines of the 13th international meeting of high representatives in charge of security issues, Yelena Panina, Director of the Institute of International Political and Economic Strategies, spoke to Alpha News about the absence of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia at the meeting and the current state of Armenian-Russian relations.

“Armenia remains a member of the CSTO and the EAEU and continues to be a partner and a friendly country for Russia. In any case, it is on the list of friendly states. However, the Armenian leadership needs to decide whether it aligns with what we call the Global South or whether it has set a course toward integration with the collective West in order to obtain status. This status is akin to that of the Baltic states today. But being dependent on and asking for handouts from EU funds—which, as we know, have been diminishing—is not a very good status.

And supporting the militant policy of the same EU, including even direct participation in some military actions, requires paying for its so-called accession to this bloc. I do not think that this is in the interests of Armenia, and I do not think that this is in the interests of the Armenian people. Therefore, I believe the current leadership of Armenia needs to somehow decide which chair it sits on,” Panina said.