The Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday (7 July). This was the third face-to face meeting of the two leaders this year.
The Russian president again congratulated the Armenian leader on the success of his party, Civil Contract, in the country’s 20 June parliamentary elections. “I think that this is important for everyone, first of all, of course, for Armenia, for the Armenian people, bearing in mind that such complex, very acute and sensitive issues that need to be resolved can only be resolved if there is an opportunity to work effectively,” Putin said. He continued, “And for this, the most important thing is to have the trust of the people. You have it, it was shown by the election results. This is very important, in fact, this is the most important thing. In such difficult times for the life of the country, this is probably the most important condition for further development.”
Thanking the Russian president, Pashinyan noted that the fact this was their third meeting in the Kremlin this year reflects the good dynamics in relations between the two countries. He again thanked Putin for his personal efforts and the efforts of Russia in securing the ceasefire that ended the 44-day war. The Armenian leader said that situation stabilised following the deployment of the Russian military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh; however, “hotbeds of instability arise from time to time”. He highlighted the fact that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border hadn’t stabilised as a source of “constant concern" for the past two months, and indicated that he wanted to share notes with the Russian leader on this issue.
Pashinyan raised the ongoing detention of Armenians by Azerbaijan, but thanked Putin for his personal role in the return of 15 of his compatriots by Azerbaijan on 3 July.
The Armenian leader also mentioned that the renewal of railways in Armenia "is in full swing" – something that the leaders had previously discussed – and that Armenian exports to Russia were growing, before thanking Putin for his help in delivering Sputnik V vaccines to Armenia. Pashinyan expressed hope that the two leaders could have an in-depth discussion over their countries’ bilateral agenda and “synchronise watches” following the 20 June elections.