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56 I Eurasia bne November 2020
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin at their first meeting, in May 2018.
The conflict has been the leading topic of discussion on the show, which has mixed support for Armenia as a state with criticism for Pashinian himself.
On October 9, one guest – Konstantin Zatulin, the deputy head of the Russian parliament’s committee dealing with the former Soviet republics – was speaking when Solovyev interrupted him. “When I’m listening to Pashinian speak, I don’t understand.” Zatulin answered: “I couldn’t care less what Pashinian says ... but it’s clear that Azerbaijan started the war.”
In an interview with Russian news
site ridus.ru, Solovyev explained that while he respects Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev more as a leader, he also appreciated that “Karabakh is a place where Armenians have lived forever” and that Armenia is a Russian ally.
That messaging from Moscow has made Armenians wonder what the Kremlin’s intentions might be. And many are blaming Pashinian for spoiling their ties with Russia.
“Now we will see if Russia is a real ally
or not,” said one twenty-something, Angela, one recent evening as she
sipped wine and surfed Telegram news channels at the downtown Yerevan bar Calumet. “We understand clearly that we are standing alone against dictatorships and terrorists. That was enough for the US and others to bomb Syria, but they
Amid war, Armenians closely watching the signals from Russia
Ani Mejlumyan for Eurasianet
Amid their most violent conflict with Azerbaijan in a quarter century, Armenians are looking more closely than ever at their complicated relationship with Russia.
While Russian coverage of the war itself has been pro-Armenia, the Russian press has been noticeably critical of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, leading many Armenians to speculate that Moscow’s relatively aloof approach to the conflict is a way to teach their leader a lesson.
At the same time, the lack of a strong response from the US or European countries has reaffirmed for many Armenians that, for better or worse, their best hope lies with Russia.
More than 600 Armenian soldiers
have died in the conflict so far, making it by far the bloodiest fighting with Azerbaijan since the 1994 signing of
a ceasefire ending their first war.
While Azerbaijan’s main ally, Turkey, has been outspoken in its political support and also provided substantial military assistance, Russia – which has a military base in Armenia and has
a treaty obligation to defend the country
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in case of attack – has by contrast taken a relatively neutral stance.
Since coming to power in 2018 in what he called the “Velvet Revolution,” Pashinian has walked a careful line. He has sought to reassure the Kremlin that Armenia’s previous geopolitical orientation, including membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), would
“More than 600 Armenian soldiers have died in the conflict so far, making it by far the bloodiest fighting with Azerbaijan since first war in 1994”
not change. But at the same time his government includes many figures with open pro-Western sympathies who come from the world of Western-funded NGOs.
Russian media coverage of the conflict has been correspondingly ambiguous. Many Armenians have paid special attention to the nightly news talk program, “Evening with Vladimir Solovyev,” on Russian state television.
don’t have the guts to stand up against Turkey,” she said. “Russia does, Iran does – those are our real allies.”
Her friend Karen jumped in to criticize several moves Pashinian has made to push away Moscow and Tehran.
“Our prime minister should have
been looking at the map and thinking about our national interest when he was flirting with the US and Europe.