Relations between Russia and Armenia are going through a challenging period, largely due to increased Western pressure on Yerevan. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on January 24 in response to media questions ahead of a press conference by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov summarizing Russian diplomacy’s 2024 results.

“Russian-Armenian relations are experiencing a challenging period. This is largely due to the West’s actions, which in the past year intensified pressure on Armenia, encouraged it to sever traditional ties with Russia, and imposed alien values incompatible with the Armenian people,” the publication stated, according to Izvestiya.

The MFA noted that Armenian authorities took in the unsubstantiated promises from Washington and Brussels that they could replace Russia as Yerevan’s main partner. However, according to the MFA, it is the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that ensures Armenia’s security, while membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) guarantees its economic stability.

The Russian MFA reiterated its warnings to Armenia about the U.S. and EU’s indifference to their partners' long-term interests. This is confirmed by the events in Georgia at the end of 2024, as well as cynical remarks about Armenian citizens in Western media.

The Ministry emphasized that Eurasian integration and EU membership are incompatible.

“Moscow has always valued and continues to value its brotherly relations with Yerevan. We regard the republic as one of our natural strategic partners and allies,” the MFA concluded.

On January 23, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Armenia has not expressed an intention to leave the CSTO. According to him, the issue of restoring Armenia’s role in the organization was not discussed during the recent conversation between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, on December 18, 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed that Armenia would leave the CSTO as soon as it received the green light from Washington. On December 4, during a parliamentary government session, Pashinyan declared that Armenia considers itself outside the CSTO and no longer participates in the organization’s decision-making processes.

Relations between Armenia and the CSTO soured back in November 2022 when Pashinyan refused to sign the CSTO Security Council declaration on joint measures to assist Armenia, citing the absence of a clear political assessment of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh.