Pashinyan: Armenia has no intention to strain ties with Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - During a press conference held on April 28 as part of his official visit to Estonia, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia’s relations with the Russian Federation are and must continue to be based on mutual interests.

He stressed that Armenia has adopted a balanced and harmonized foreign policy approach and has no intention of straining, breaking, or damaging its relationship with Russia, Armenpress reports.

"This means that we do not envision or construct our foreign policy in just one direction; rather, we seek and build the right balances within our foreign relations. One expression of this was the recently adopted law in Armenia regarding the initiation of the process for the Republic of Armenia to join the European Union," Pashinyan said.

According to him, during discussions with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, it was emphasized that this law is also seen as an additional stimulus for democratic reforms, as Armenia is pursuing a democratic reform strategy.

"It is very important to have additional incentives within that strategy, and this law is one of them. I want to be clear: sometimes comments are made even within Armenia that, in my view, do not accurately reflect reality. We have no intention whatsoever of straining, breaking, or damaging our relations with Russia. We aim, as is logical, to maintain good relations with all our international partners. We want to normalize relations with our regional neighbors, including Azerbaijan and Turkey, and improve relations with our other neighbors, Georgia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We also seek to deepen relations with the European Union. Looking at the developments in Armenia-EU relations in recent years, what once seemed unrealistic or impossible now appears feasible," Pashinyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister recalled that a European Union civilian observer mission operates in Armenia, for which he expressed his gratitude to the EU and Estonia for supporting this decision. He also mentioned ongoing negotiations on visa liberalization, expressing hope for their logical conclusion within reasonable timeframes.

"Last year, the European Union decided to provide support to Armenia under the European Peace Facility, which is another very important decision. In tangible or material terms, this decision is quite symbolic but carries enormous political significance. This is also one of the key results of our balanced foreign policy. We hope to further deepen economic and trade relations with the European Union, as political dialogue becomes more effective and tangible when accompanied by concrete economic results," Pashinyan concluded.