Pashinyan and Putin will compare views, says political scientist

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko commented on the possible agenda of the Armenian-Russian talks on May 8, as well as the non-participation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the Victory Parade on May 9.

“Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow is a sign of a sign of respect for the Russian leader, who was inaugurated for the fifth time and assumed the post of President of Russia. Armenia is part of a number of Russia-led integration unions, such as the CSTO and the EAEU, and it depends on Russia as a country that supplies a number of goods and from which workers come to the Russian labor market. They will discuss the policy, which is currently being pursued by Nikol Pashinyan and which is increasingly pro-Western. It was Pashinyan who lost Karabakh, but the Armenian media blames Russia for this.

Pashinyan is guided by NATO countries. His inner circle and his wife are taking steps that Russia considers unacceptable. Therefore, now there will be a kind of comparison of views. They will discuss what will await our alliance in the near future. Will Armenia quit the EAEU and CSTO? Will the Armenian leadership demand the withdrawal of the Russian military base from Gyumri? I think they will discuss all this,” Bezpalko said.

According to the expert, the non-participation of the Armenian Prime Minister in the May 9 parade not only casts a shadow on Armenian-Russian relations but also looks like an act of disdain for Armenian soldiers who participated in the Great Patriotic War.

“I believe the reluctance to stay for one day in Moscow and attend the Victory Parade is definitely disrespectful, not so much for the Russian leader as for Russia as a whole and the Russian people. This is disrespectful to those Armenians who fought very gloriously during the Great Patriotic War. From only one village, by the way, on the territory of Karabakh, Armenians have two marshals; the most famous of them is Ivan Bagramyan, the hero of the Battle of Stalingrad. It is very strange that the Armenian leader does not want to pay tribute to these people. From my point of view, this is a demarche.

But while there is still an opportunity to preserve the remnants of relations instead of entering open conflict, our leadership will treat such steps with understanding,” the political scientist concluded.