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.