Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, expressed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Russia has not gained any benefits from its military bases within Armenia's borders.
He stated, "The recent events have demonstrated that Moscow is unable to fulfill its alliance commitments," and he emphasized the need to diversify Armenia's security relationships.
Additionally, when asked if he demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops, Pashinyan replied, "We don't pose such questions. We are currently discussing other issues and working on understanding the causes of the situation. Armenia's relationships with Russia and the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) are based on a daily agenda, and Armenia's relations with Russia and the CSTO are the topics for discussions between working groups. I believe that these discussions will be related to Armenia-Russia, Armenia-CSTO working groups."
After Armenia, together with Azerbaijan, handed over control of the Karabakh region to Azerbaijan in September, Armenia is now seeking new alliances, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
In response to Pashinyan's comments, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, said that it is necessary to understand the context in which these statements were made, as they did not have information on this specific interview and do not consider The Wall Street Journal as an official source.
Russia has maintained a military presence in Armenia continuously since 1995, with approximately 3,500 military personnel stationed in the country.
In mid-September, Azerbaijan conducted an anti-terror operation in the territory of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, in which Russia did not take part. Moscow explained its non-involvement by emphasizing that the fighting was taking place within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan.
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