Putin to hold bilateral meeting with Pashinyan on May 8

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 8 in Moscow, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Yuriy Ushakov said, the Moscow bureau of Report informs.

He noted that the day after the inauguration, which will take place on May 7, Putin will hold the first major event - the anniversary meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. After it, a bilateral meeting will be held with the prime minister of Armenia.

“Recently, problematic issues have accumulated in relations between Russia and Armenia, which, as we expect, will be openly discussed between the leaders,” Ushakov said. “You know that Pashinyan himself said in April that relations with Moscow were going through hard times. Recently, contacts between our countries at various levels have noticeably decreased. There has been criticism towards both Russia and the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization),” he said.

Ushakov reminded that Yerevan has de facto frozen its participation in the organization, although it has not yet withdrawn from it, at the same time it does not participate in the joint exercises of the structure and is going to refrain from financing it.

“In parallel, Armenia is demonstratively developing a dialogue with the West, including considering various options for joining the European Union, and NATO ties are intensifying. That is, a lot of issues have now accumulated that require discussion between the leaders,” he noted.