“It’s a normal working process,” Kostanian told News.am. “The two partners have questions to each other, and we are clarifying things through diplomats.”
He also reiterated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s recent assurances that he has no plans to change the “vector” of Armenian foreign policy.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal this week, Pashinian reiterated that his government is now trying to “diversify” that policy because Russia and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have not honored their security commitments to Armenia. But he made clear that Yerevan is not considering demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country even if it sees no “advantages” in their presence.
An estimated 4,000 Russian soldiers backed up by MiG-29 fighter jets, helicopters and long-range air-defense systems are currently stationed in the South Caucasus state in accordance with bilateral treaties. One of those treaties signed in 2010 extended their presence until 2044.
Citing senior Russian lawmakers, the Moscow daily Izvestia suggested on Friday that Yerevan cannot shut down the Russian military base before that time at will. The pro-Kremlin paper argued that another Russian-Armenian agreement, signed in 1995, stipulates that time frames for a possible pre-term closure of the base must be jointly agreed upon by the two sides.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Pashinian late last month of seeking to ruin Russian-Armenian relations and reorient his country towards the West. Earlier in September, it deplored “a series of unfriendly steps” taken by Yerevan. Moscow reacted rather cautiously to the latest criticism voiced by Pashinian.