By Mark Dovich
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to discuss “the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh,” according to the Kremlin’s press service. The call was made “on the initiative of the Armenian side.”
Pashinyan and Putin “confirmed the importance of consistently implementing the trilateral agreements” and “noted the role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in ensuring stability in the region,” the Kremlin’s read-out said.
The term “trilateral agreements” refers to three statements signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia aimed at promoting peace in the South Caucasus.
The first is the November 2020 ceasefire that ended large-scale hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan in and around Karabakh. The second is a January 2021 statement forming a joint working group to unblock regional transport routes. The third is a follow-up from November 2021 reaffirming the parties’ commitment to the previous two agreements.
In addition, Pashinyan and Putin “touched on several relevant issues in further developing strategic partner and allied relations between Russia and Armenia,” the Kremlin said.
The two leaders have spoken by phone more than 80 times since Pashinyan became prime minister in 2018, according to a tally compiled by the RIA Novosti news agency.
The call came just one day after Pashinyan appeared to make veiled criticisms of Russia in a message marking the anniversary of Armenia’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
“Independence for us means strong, allied relations, but your allies are not always only your allies, but also the allies of those who are against you,” the message read in part.
Pashinyan has also been openly critical of the Russian peacekeepers’ inability or unwillingness to prevent further escalations in Karabakh, saying earlier this month their failures “bring to light questions of a systemic nature” and “raise questions among the Armenian public about the purpose and essence of the peacekeeping operation.”
Frustration with the Russian peacekeepers is reportedly growing in Karabakh following a recent escalation in the region that left at least two Armenian soldiers and one Azerbaijani soldier dead.
Earlier this week, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan’s office told CivilNet that Armenian and Azerbaijani officials would travel to Moscow by the end of the month for a meeting of their countries’ border demarcation commission. The exact date for those talks has not been made public.
A few weeks ago, Ivan Nechaev, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said Russia was planning to organize high-level talks between Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Russian officials in the near future.
Last week, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin made separate phone calls to his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, reportedly to discuss the state of bilateral relations.–––