Page 20 - bne_newspaper_May_18_2018

Eurasia
May 18, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 20
New Armenian PM Pashinian promises Putin close ties will endure
bne IntelliNews
Armenia’s new Prime Minister Nikol Pashin-
ian, who came to power last week after a peace- ful revolution, has promised Russian President Vladimir Putin he will maintain close ties with traditional ally Russia. His pledge came during his first trip abroad as prime minister, namely a visit to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. During his meeting with Putin, Pashinian asked for more military aid, Reuters reported on May 14.
The choice of Russia for Pashinian's first foreign trip highlights the importance Moscow plays in the South Caucasus region. Armenia is locked in a decades-long conflict with its neighbour Azer- baijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh enclave and Moscow, which has military bases
in Armenia, has acted as a guarantor of securi-
ty. Russia sells arms to both countries and main- tains a military presence in Armenia near Turkey — an ally of Azerbaijan but this week open enough to Pashinian to inform him that Ankara might be prepared to establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan.
Pashinian was clear throughout the three-week revolution in the small impoverished nation of Armenia across April and May that he intend-
ed to maintain good relations with Russia, also
a major source of business and investment, and dismissed out of hand speculation that Moscow sought to manipulate the outcome of the popular uprising that ousted the incumbent regime of the previous prime minister Serzh Sargsyan, who resigned on April 23. Prior to being appointed prime minister he came under some fire for
Nikol Pashinian (left) and Vladimir Putin both committed to maintaining strategic ties between their countries during a meeting in Sochi.
having, while still only an MP, been opposed to Armenia’s membership of the Eurasian Econom- ic Union (EEU), but he responded that if he was made prime minister he would look at the issue from a different perspective.
Pashinian told Putin he wanted the two countries to remain firm allies, for Armenia to buy more Russian weapons and for Moscow and Yerevan to forge closer political and trade ties. Russia actu- ally plays only a limited role in Armenia as Arme- nians are much more concerned by their domes- tic woes than any wider geopolitical thinking.
“We have things to discuss, but there are also things that do not need any discussion,” said Pashinian. “That is the strategic relationship of allies between Armenia and Russia. ... I can as- sure you that in Armenia there is a consensus and nobody has ever doubted the importance of the strategic nature of Armenian-Russian rela- tions.”
Pashinian has admitted that he was in contact with the Kremlin during the uprising and accord- ing to some reports the Sargsyan government also approached Moscow hoping for support in its showdown with the hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered in Yerevan’s central square.
“...We really appreciate the balanced position which Russia adopted during our domestic cri- sis,” said Pashinian. “I think it was a very con- structive position.”