The state visit by the Ukrainian leader, whose country has been resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion for over four years, sparked fury in the Kremlin.<\/p>\n
Moscow demands an explanation<\/a> for platforming Zelensky’s “anti-Russian statements,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov fumed.<\/p>\n The Russian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, openly asked Armenia<\/a>: “Whose side of history are you on?”<\/p>\n Armenian<\/a> Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who skipped Moscow’s scaled-down May 9 Victory Day celebrations<\/a> in another diplomatic snub, gave an unequivocal answer: “On the issue of Ukraine, we are not an ally of Russia<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Pashinyan’s response was a “turning point” for Armenian diplomacy, according to Anna Ohanyan, political science professor at Stonehill College specializing in South Caucasus politics.<\/p>\n The expert sees Pashinyan’s meeting with Zelensky \u2014 as well as Yerevan’s pursuit of closer European integration \u2014 as part of the country’s push to reaffirm its sovereignty vis-\u00e0-vis Russian imperialism.<\/p>\n But Ohanyan argues that Armenia is pursuing a more “diversified” foreign policy rather than a clear-cut pivot away from Russia \u2014 despite the Kremlin’s effort to frame it in these exact binary terms.<\/p>\n Diversification, but not an anti-Russia pivot<\/p>\n When it comes to international relations, the 3-million South Caucasus country has little room for maneuver.<\/p>\n Armenia’s neighbors include Azerbaijan, its bitter rival in a series of bloody wars, and Turkey, Baku’s powerful patron. In the face of such odds, Yerevan has looked to Moscow as a counterbalance.<\/p>\n Yerevan remains \u2014 in theory \u2014 a military ally of Russia, being a formal member of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and host to about 4,000 Russian troops.<\/p>\n But the country “froze” its participation<\/a> in the CSTO after the alliance failed to protect Armenia from military advances by Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n The CSTO did not step in during the violent 2021-2022 border clashes, nor did Russian peacekeepers<\/a> intervene as Azerbaijan took the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2023, leading to the expulsion of about 100,000 ethnic Armenians.<\/p>\n Disillusioned with Russia, Armenia has looked westward for new partners.<\/p>\n Last week, Yerevan signed strategic partnership declarations with the U.K. and France, with Paris emerging as Armenia’s key defense supplier.<\/a><\/p>\n The EU has also stepped up support for Armenia, allocating 30 million euros ($35 million) to the Armenian Armed Forces and 270 million euros ($320 million) to the country’s economy and European integration.<\/p>\n Europe’s ties with Armenia are now “closer than ever,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared during the summit, which saw the two sides sign a new Connectivity Partnership.<\/p>\n New engagement with Kyiv is also bound to win Armenia’s favor in the EU due to the bloc’s support for Ukraine amid Russian aggression.<\/p>\n Yet, there are limits to this westward drift.<\/p>\n Armenia’s foreign policy direction is “definitely not a pivot\u2026 It’s diversification with a tilt,” Ohanyan says.<\/p>\n While Armenia passed a law<\/a> last year to start accession talks with the EU, officials both in Brussels and Yerevan have been clear that this would be a long journey.<\/p>\n Constraints go beyond the Russian military base in Armenia’s city of Gyumri.<\/p>\n While reducing military dependence, Armenia remains closely tied with Russia in economic sectors, including agriculture, energy, and consumer goods.<\/p>\n The chief issue, however, “is Armenia’s Russia-linked oligarchic influence, economic interests that were unchecked” in the early years of the country’s independence, Ohanyan argues.<\/p>\n This has led to a “vast oligarchic use of corruption as a strategic tool in influencing Armenia’s sovereignty, curtailing Armenia’s room to maneuver,” she adds.<\/p>\n Armenia has pushed back against this influence. The 2018 Velvet Revolution that ushered Pashinyan’s Civil Contract into power led to laborious reforms and institution-building.<\/p>\n Amid democratic backsliding in neighboring Georgia, Armenia is now ranked<\/a> the freest country in the South Caucasus by Freedom House.<\/p>\n The Civil Contract’s direction is about to be put to the test, however, in the June 7 parliamentary elections, closely watched by the Kremlin and Europe alike.<\/p>\n Moscow eyes Armenia’s elections<\/p>\n European governments have raised alarm over what they said was Russia’s disinformation machinery being deployed to undermine Pashinyan ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n The EU even dispatched a civilian mission to help the country tackle fake news and hybrid threats.<\/p>\n Hand-in-hand with covert hybrid operations, Russia has sent public signals to Armenia.<\/p>\n Hosting Pashinyan at the Kremlin on April 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a> rebuked Armenia over some opposition politicians \u2014 including those with “Russian passports” \u2014 being unable to “take part in domestic political life during elections.”<\/p>\n He seemingly alluded to Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian oligarch who has cycled in and out of detention and whose Strong Armenia party polls second-strongest at 10%.<\/p>\n While the latest polls<\/a> give the Civil Contract party a strong lead (around 30%) over the fragmented pro-Russian opposition, Pashinyan carries the painful baggage of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh offensive.<\/p>\n To further fuel polarization, Moscow has also sought to “geopoliticize” the elections, framing the domestic vote as a geopolitical choice, Ohanyan says.<\/p>\n The Kremlin has become increasingly vocal about Armenia’s foreign policy steps.<\/p>\n Putin warned Yerevan that it cannot be both a member of the EU and the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), telling Armenia it must choose: Russia or Europe.<\/p>\n Pashinyan dismissed the Russian leader’s framing and pushed back against Putin’s suggestion that Armenia hold a referendum on the issue.<\/p>\n “I have spoken out on this issue repeatedly… I have publicly stated that until there is no need to choose \u2014 de jure and de facto \u2014 we will not put such an issue on the agenda,” he said.<\/a><\/p>\n Moscow now appears to be drawing Ukraine into the Armenian elections as well.<\/p>\n “Zelensky’s visit just gives the Kremlin yet another opportunity to push, to geopoliticize, to securitize, to heighten the context on Armenia ahead of the elections,” Ohanyan notes.<\/p>\n Only a few days after the Ukrainian president met Pashinyan, the Russian leader drew parallels between Armenia’s European aspirations and post-EuroMaidan events in Ukraine \u2014 comments seen by some as a veiled threat.<\/p>\n “We are witnessing the consequences of developments surrounding Ukraine,” he said. “And where did it start? With Ukraine seeking to join the European Union.”<\/p>\n Russia’s response to the 2013\u20132014 EuroMaidan Revolution was the occupation of Crimea, orchestration of the war in Donbas \u2014 and an all-out invasion launched eight years later.<\/p>\n Note from the author:<\/p>\n Hi, this is Martin Fornusek.<\/p>\n I hope you enjoyed this article. In our team, we believe fact-based and truthful reporting should be available to all \u2014 that’s why we don’t use any paywall.<\/p>\n![\"Armenia's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778771798_875_image.jpeg\"\/)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) welcomes President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) during the 8th European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on May 4, 2026. (EPC Armenia \/ Anadolu \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Armenian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778771800_123_image.jpeg\"\/)
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia, on May 4, 2026. (Ludovic Marin \/ AFP \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Armenian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778771801_761_image.jpeg\"\/)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa shake hands during a press conference at the Armenia-European Union summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on May 5, 2026. (Karen Minasyan \/ AFP \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Protestors](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778771803_641_image.jpeg\"\/)
Protestors shout slogans and wave an Armenian national flag as they stand on a truck with a photograph of then-opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia, on May 2, 2018. (Sergei Gapon \/ AFP \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778771804_510_image.jpeg\"\/)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (L) in Moscow, Russia, on April 1, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov \/ POOL \/ AFP \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n