Russian president surprised by Armenian premier`s decision to  recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan - Russian FM

ArmInfo. Russian President Vladimir Putin was surprised by Armenian Premier Nikol Pashinyan's  decision to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Izvestia. 

Speaking about Armenian-Russian relations, the Russian minister  recalled that when Pashinyan was in the opposition and headed the  movement he created (everyone knew that he had connections with the  George Soros Foundation), he declared his withdrawal from the CSTO  and the EAEU.

"Under this slogan, he gathered crowds in the streets, demanded the  election of a prime minister (they had elections in parliament). At  the same time, he declared that if they ended with him not being  elected, he would "raise" the people. Democracy in its highest  manifestation.

After Pashinyan became prime minister, Russian President Putin met  with him several times. He emphasized in every possible way that we  will be guided not by some previous statements, but by how  specifically the Armenian leadership will build relations with the  Russian Federation. In response, it was said that the CSTO and the  EAEU are structures that are fundamentally important for the security  of Armenia, the development of the country's economy and the  prevention of its isolation in the South Caucasus," Lavrov noted.

According to him, it was in this direction that relations developed  all the years before the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia  flared up in 2020. Lavrov added that Pashinyan then approached Putin  as an ally of Russia and a member of the CSTO.

"At night, our president, tirelessly and effortlessly, negotiated  with the leaders of Yerevan and Baku to stop this war. Then there  were trilateral agreements (1,2,3,4) on border delimitation,  resumption of economic ties, unblocking transport communications,  normalization of relations in general (including the conclusion of a  peace treaty). All this was agreed upon with our active proactive  role.

In parallel with this, the European Union "dragged" the Armenians and  Azerbaijanis to its side. Pashinyan was the main supporter of the  idea of working on the platform of the EU and the USA. They regularly  traveled there to the detriment of meetings that were planned on the  territory of the Russian Federation. In 2022 in Prague, at the summit  of the "European political community" (an idea of French President  Emmanuel Macron), he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in the  presence of European Council President Charles Michel, signed a  document stating that Karabakh is Azerbaijan. Nobody informed us. At  the next meeting, the President of Russia told the Prime Minister of  Armenia that we were surprised by their decision," Lavrov added.

At the same time, he noted that there were no explanations from the  Armenian side after this decision.  "Pashinyan always asked us not to  forget that in parallel with all our efforts of the last three years,  it is imperative to resolve the issue of the status of  Nagorno-Karabakh. We were doing this. But when he himself signed that  this territory is part of Azerbaijan in accordance with the  administrative borders in USSR, then the question of status has  disappeared," the Russian minister continued.

"When the Karabakh residents began to leave Karabakh, Pashinyan asked  the Russian President why he left them to their fate - Putin replied  that it was the Prime Minister of Armenia who decided that they were  no longer citizens or were claiming some other citizenship, except  Azerbaijan," added the Russian Foreign Minister.

Lavrov noted that he himself also communicated with Pashinyan when he  went to various meetings in Yerevan.

"It seemed to me that he still understands the benefits for Armenia  from continuing allied relations with the Russian Federation, from  interaction within the CSTO and the EAEU. But now Armenian officials  both in the Security Council of Armenia and in the Parliament of  Armenia are directly saying that it is necessary rely more on the  European Union, which supposedly the CSTO does not fulfill its  obligations to Armenia.  That is, in essence, the "circle is closed."  The Armenian leadership is beginning to express ideas similar to  those with which Pashinyan formed his "Exit" movement. I am sure that  This does not meet the interests of the Armenian people. It does not  meet our interests in terms of historical friendly ties with the  Armenians, with the huge Armenian diaspora living in Russia, and in  terms of stability in the South Caucasus.

The goal of those who are now luring the Armenian leadership to the  side of the West is simple - to prevent stability in the South  Caucasus, and to try to turn this region into a zone of their  dominance. Just as the West is trying to do this in Central Asia, and  in many other parts of our common continent," Lavrov said.