Expert: Moscow will find levers of pressure on Armenia under any conditions

Most of the politicians in Armenia are absolutely pro-Western, and the fear of a strong Russia keeps them from taking concrete actions, Yevgeny Mikhailov, an expert on interethnic conflicts, a member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, told Report.

According to the SOCIES Expert Center poll conducted in Armenia, 69.7% of respondents believe that Yerevan needs to limit relations with Moscow. The NATO bloc wins in the Armenian society against the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Thus, 34.1% of respondents believe that the security of Armenia should be ensured by NATO, which this country should join. Only 29.1% of respondents voted for the CSTO.

"In my opinion, many so-called Russia-friendly countries are now carefully watching how a special military operation is being carried out in Ukraine and are waiting. Kazakhstan has said that it will not help Moscow bypass sanctions; other Central Asian republics are maneuvering between the West and Russia's interests while not showing their clear position and support for Moscow. Against this background, Yerevan stood out somewhat," Mikhailov said.

"Have you paid attention to how the Armenians themselves have begun to demonstrate videos supporting Russia? Showing that Armenia is with Moscow forever. Apparently not forever, since the surveys of what the population wants are being conducted in parallel, and they are not in favor of Russia," he stressed.

He believes that such results, first of all, speak of a certain duality of a part of the nation, which, in an attempt to maintain comfortable conditions for itself, does not notice how "it tends to open betrayal of its historical guarantor of security."

The expert suggested that if Pashinyan and his team continue to signal the EU and the US about their readiness to join the friendly European family, then under any conditions, Moscow will find levers of pressure on Armenia.