He also insisted that the Russian military base headquartered in Gyumri is not of “vital importance” for Armenia.
“If they want to remove [the base,] let them remove it,” Pashinian told journalists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly raised such a possibility right after his September 1 talks with Pashinian during which he kept pressing Yerevan to quickly choose between seeking to join the European Union or remaining part of a Russian-led trade bloc. Putin said Moscow is ready to close the Gyumri base “even tomorrow” if asked by the Armenian government. Pashinian responded by saying that he “will not object” if Russia decides to end its long-standing military presence.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin signaled Moscow’s reluctance to do so earlier this week. Galuzin described the base as a “key element of the security architecture of Armenia and the South Caucasus” and said Yerevan would hardly be able to replace it. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova likewise said Moscow will stick to a 2010 Russian-Armenian agreement that extended Russia’s basing rights by 25 years, until 2044.
“And we expect official Yerevan to take a similar approach,” Zakharova told a news briefing on Tuesday.
Pashinian and his political allies argue that the Russian troops failed to intervene when Azerbaijan invaded Armenian border areas in 2021 and 2022. Armenian opposition leaders counter that the Russian base is first and foremost a deterrent against a perceived threat emanating from Turkey, Azerbaijan’s closest ally. They have therefore expressed serious concern over its possible closure.
The base is facing an uncertain future amid a further deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations which Pashinian’s government did not characterize even as “strategic partnership” in its five-year program adopted this summer. Pashinian said membership in the EU remains a “strategic goal” for Yerevan after Moscow banned the import of Armenian agricultural products in May and June.
The secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, charged on Tuesday that Pashinian has opted for “severing ties with Russia and strengthening cooperation with the West.” Chairing a meeting in Moscow, Shoigu repeated Russian demands for Yerevan to hold a referendum on joining the EU.
“I want to emphasize that Russia is not prepared to finance and will not finance Armenia’s European integration,” he said, according to the TASS news agency.