Mirzoyan: Russia is more than a strategic partner for Armenia in legal, political, and economic terms

ArmInfo. Russia is, in fact, more than a strategic partner for Armenia in legal, political, and economic terms; it is an ally. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this on Armenian Public Television.

"We have agreements that make us allies, which is more than a strategic partner. We are part of the same integrated economic union, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and we are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). We have frozen our participation in the CSTO and see no prospect of reopening, but we have bilateral agreements and obligations that make us allies in the defense sector as well. So there's no need for any panicky connections or artificial themes," the Armenian diplomat said in response to a question about whether Armenia and Russia are no longer allies.

At the same time, he acknowledged that problems have recently arisen in relations between Armenia and Russia. According to him, this is evident both in the media and in the statements of controversial political figures. "Basically, it must be acknowledged, this is happening on the part of Russian media and officials, and in certain decisions by the Russian government, for example, restrictions on the export of our agricultural products, flowers, mineral water, and alcohol. I can say that this shows that, to a certain extent, there are obvious problems in our relations that require reconsideration, improvement, and mutual respect for interests. We believe that our Russian colleagues should have greater respect for our right to make independent decisions. Our Russian colleagues were wrong to block access of our goods to the Russian market. We are members of the EAEU and have all the rights and obligations. Armenia has fulfilled its obligations impeccably," Mirzoyan continued.

According to the Armenian Foreign Minister, the situation would have been different if they had said that this or that batch of flowers or sour cream showed such results; it's a question of standards. He noted that the apricot harvest had not yet been completed, and their import was prohibited. Mirzoyan considers such steps unhealthy and a violation of EAEU rules. The Armenian official is confident that the current situation requires not only Armenia and Russia, but all EAEU members to understand how to address this situation.

"We have fulfilled our obligations impeccably, and it is unfortunate that our rights are being violated. But you must have noticed that we do not want to aggravate the situation, we do not want to enter into a field of mutual accusations and statements. Just as we believed that Armenia and Russia are bound by strong friendly ties in various spheres—history, culture, political dialogue, economics—we also believe that this should be the case in the future. No realistic analysis or analysis based on Armenia's interests can demonstrate that Armenia should not have warm ties with Russia." "So we don't want to escalate the verbal spat, but rather sit down constructively and resolve all the issues in a friendly manner," he concluded.

As a reminder, Russia introduced gradual restrictions on imports of Armenian agricultural products in April. The official reason cited was sanitary and phytosanitary violations and a lack of safety oversight by authorized Armenian agencies. The real reason for the restrictions, however, is the Armenian leadership's overtly anti-Russian actions against the backdrop of Yerevan's course toward rapprochement with the European Union. These "sanctions" have already led to a decline in trade: in the first five months of 2026, mutual trade between Armenia and Russia fell by 21.5% compared to the same period last year. Difficulties have also arisen in agricultural exports: due to the blockage during the summer peak season, exports of Armenian fruits, vegetables, and flowers saw a sharp decline of 74.5%. Experts believe the financial losses to businesses amount to tens of millions of dollars, creating the threat of mass bankruptcy for hundreds of greenhouse and farming enterprises.