Russia does not intend to turn blind eye to Armenian leadership’s populism, expert says

Speaking with Alpha News, military expert Pyotr Kolchin commented on Vladimir Putin’s phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and noted that Putin’s assessments were decisive and unambiguous.

“Russia has made its position on Armenia’s attempts to develop relations with the European Union extremely clear. Such actions will actually disintegrate Yerevan from the EAEU, and this carries huge risks for Armenia’s economy. This position was voiced quite strongly, and the risks that emerged could not be ignored by the Pashinyan administration. Therefore, the call to Putin can largely be called an attempt to play back a very unsuccessful populist move. Russia does not intend to turn a blind eye to the populism of the current Armenian leadership and its attempts to damage the process of Eurasian integration. If Armenia wants to try to build relations with the EU, it should do so without jeopardizing the interests of the Eurasian Union,” Kolchin said.

According to the expert, Pashinyan has done everything to reduce Armenia’s opportunities in both diplomacy and the economy.

“Now Pashinyan has to justify himself for his actions, trying to explain Armenia’s position on this issue. Of course, in many ways, this shows the diplomatic weakness that Armenia will always have. Pashinyan has done everything to reduce Armenia’s opportunities both in diplomacy and in the economy, and he will certainly not get far on his populism. President Putin gave his assessments, and I am sure they were decisive and unambiguous, continuing the line already established by Russia,” Kolchin concluded.