Armenian prime minister: ‘We are not Russia’s allies in the war with Ukraine.’

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a recent interview with the Czech TV network CNN Prima News that his country is not an ally to Russia when it comes to the war in Ukraine.

“You said that we’re Russia’s allies. You didn’t say it out loud, of course, but I think it was evident. [But] we are not Russia’s allies in the war with Ukraine. And our feeling about this war, about this conflict, is alarm, because it directly impacts all our relationships,” said Pashinyan (as quoted by News.am).

He went on to say that while the West views Armenia as one of Russia’s partners, Moscow can see that Yerevan does not support the war in Ukraine.

“The result is that we’re nobody’s allies in this situation, and that makes us vulnerable. […] We’re evasive not because we don’t have an opinion on the situation but because of what I already said: we have a lot more problems, and they prevent us from being more involved in other issues,” said the prime minister.

Pashinyan said on Facebook that the interview was recorded in May.

Earlier last month, Pashinyan said that Armenia had not yet decided whether to participate in upcoming Collective Security Treaty Organization military exercises because the country’s leaders had the impression that the alliance was “leaving Armenia behind.” Russian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in response that if Pashinyan was using a “figure of speech to lobby Armenia’s withdrawal from the CSTO, it seems to me that it’s important to understand the danger of using language to manipulate.”