Armenian and Russian leaders held contentious discussions in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan on April 1, 2026. Official photo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan engaged in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, addressing bilateral issues alongside Armenia’s relationships and ongoing projects with the EU and the US.
Putin repeatedly highlighted the Collective Security Treaty Organisation’s (CSTO) failure to intervene during the Azerbaijani assault on Armenia in 2022. The two leaders delivered extensive televised remarks, totaling approximately 20 minutes. Both parties expressed positive sentiments regarding their relations, with Putin characterizing them as ‘special’ and ‘formed over centuries’, while Pashinyan assessed them as ‘very deep, very important’.
Putin also praised the economic ties, noting their ‘developing at a good pace’ and comparing Armenia’s trade volume to Azerbaijan’s at $4.9 billion versus Armenia’s $6.4 billion in 2025, a significant drop from the $11 billion of 2024. Economists attribute this decline to a reduction in Armenia’s Russian gold re-exports. Russia anticipates halved bilateral trade with Armenia in 2025, largely due to this re-export decrease.
Following the meeting, Pashinyan deemed the visit ‘very successful’ during a Thursday press conference, citing concrete agreements across multiple sectors, including military-technical cooperation. However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk criticized Armenia’s approach, suggesting a potential restructuring of economic relations. A protest occurred near the Armenian Embassy in Moscow as Pashinyan arrived, and a visitor requested a photograph with his child to commemorate Armenia’s role in relinquishing Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the discussions, Putin emphasized Russia’s neutral stance regarding Armenia’s developing ties with the EU, while rejecting the possibility of a customs union between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The Russian Foreign Ministry continued to criticize Armenia’s EU aspirations. Pashinyan stated that they acknowledged the incompatibility, intending to continue collaboration ‘as long as there is an opportunity’, assuring Armenia’s relations with Russia would ‘never be questioned’.
Putin reiterated his earlier claims regarding the CSTO’s inaction, referencing Armenia’s ‘freezing’ of CSTO membership due to the alliance’s inaction in 2021 and 2022, and shifted blame to Pashinyan’s government’s recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. This sparked outrage in Armenia, which fact-checkers swiftly refuted, demonstrating Armenia’s lack of a request for CSTO assistance during the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and its subsequent appeal for military aid in September 2022. Putin also addressed the arrest of Russian-Armenian tycoon Samvel Karateptyan in the context of Armenia’s upcoming elections.
Topics: #putin #pashinyan #moscow
