An Armenian political scientist explained how Pashinyan "fooled the Kremlin."
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at a meeting with Russian President Putin in Bishkek, presented a rather odd vision of Russian-Armenian relations.
Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Yerevan Caucasus Institute, which was created with Swiss funds, told Armenian News, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Let's translate from diplomatic or PR terms—what the Armenian Prime Minister is essentially saying to the Kremlin. 'We actually want to join the European Union, but they won't let us in. And they won't let us in for a long time. As soon as they let us in, we'll join. But until then, we'll be with you.'"
"How can the Kremlin possibly react to this?! Of course, there's no prospect of joining the EU in the coming decades," Iskandaryan said.
At the same time, he believes that even if Pashinyan abandons his strange rhetoric, this will not change the general trend of distancing himself from Russia.
"Russia has only two tools for working in the post-Soviet space: energy prices and security.
Azerbaijan was influenced through Armenia and vice versa. Nagorno-Karabakh was the instrument of this influence.
"This factor no longer applies. Armenia no longer needs security from Russia, because Armenia has already lost the war. And Azerbaijan doesn't need security from Russia, because it has already won that war," Iskandaryan said.
English version :: Read in English An Armenian political scientist explained how Pashinyan "fooled the Kremlin"