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Putin Confronts Pashinyan Over Election Rules and Armenia’s Westward Drift

In a rare public airing of differences, Putin warned Pashinyan that Yerevan’s westward drift was straining ties with Moscow.

Kyiv Post

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2 آپریل 2026

3 min read

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In a rare public airing of differences, Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday over restrictions affecting Russian passport holders and other pro-Russian figures ahead of Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election. The televised exchange, during talks in Moscow on April 1, underscored the widening rift between the two formally allied countries.

It was not immediately clear which specific individuals Putin had in mind. Observers have pointed to several pro-Russian or Russia-linked figures active ahead of the vote, including Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia party is contesting the election, and former President Robert Kocharyan, who has been named as the prime ministerial candidate of the Armenia bloc. But neither Putin nor Pashinyan publicly identified any individual by name at the meeting.

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Pashinyan stressed that Armenian law allows only citizens holding exclusively Armenian passports to become members of parliament or prime minister. He added that Armenia was a democratic country where anyone could participate in elections, provided they met the legal requirements. He argued that the main obstacle to wider Russian participation in the vote was a legal restriction, rather than a discretionary political ban.

The meeting was the first face-to-face encounter between Putin and Pashinyan since the European Union announced on March 16 that it would deploy a Hybrid Rapid Response Team to Armenia ahead of the parliamentary elections. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the move followed a request from the Armenian government and was intended to help counter Russian threats and interference ahead of the vote.

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Putin said Armenia’s deepening contacts with the EU were not, in themselves, a problem for Moscow, but argued that membership in both blocs was impossible because of their incompatible customs and trade regimes. He said Armenia could not be part of both the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union “by definition.” Pashinyan replied that he understood the two memberships were incompatible, but said Armenia could continue pursuing both tracks for now, until the point when a definitive choice had to be made.

The exchange illustrated how post-Soviet states have steadily pulled away from Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Despite the sharp differences on display, both sides signaled they were not ready for a full rupture. Pashinyan stressed that ties with Russia remain deep and economically important, while continuing to argue that Armenia should preserve room to expand relations with Europe and the United States.