Russia on Wednesday accused Armenia of taking actions that undermine the spirit of its longstanding alliance with Moscow, signaling deepening tensions between the two traditional allies.
According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, Moscow said recent steps by Yerevan were “inconsistent with the spirit of allied relations,” amid Armenia’s growing engagement with Western partners and ongoing friction over regional security issues.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu also called the “number of actions” taken by Armenia’s leadership “clearly unfriendly.”
“This is precisely how we view the accession to the International Criminal Court, the extradition of Russian citizens to third countries, and the deliberate worsening of conditions for Russian economic operators, which, incidentally, provide jobs for tens of thousands of Armenian citizens,” he said while speaking at a Security Council special working group meeting.
“And, finally, the use of the platform at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan by the Kyiv regime to threaten the Russian Federation,” he underlined.
Shoigu stressed that Yerevan’s cooperation with Russia is the “main” driver of Armenia’s economic development, adding that ties with Moscow have enabled Armenia’s gross domestic product to grow by nearly 40% between 2022 and 2025 alone.
Shoigu added that Russia supplies Armenia with natural gas, flour, grain, fertilizer, and gasoline at prices “three times lower” than market prices, ranking first among Yerevan’s importers and exporters.
He noted that Russia’s share of Armenia’s total trade turnover is 36%.
He also noted that Armenia became a strategic partner with several countries “unfriendly” to Russia over the last year.
“The agreement with them also implies deeper cooperation in the security sphere. Joint military exercises are being conducted,” he noted.
Armenia hosted dozens of leaders in early May, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for a summit of the European Political Community, alongside a separate summit between the EU and Armenia in the capital, Yerevan.
Addressing the summit, Zelenskyy threatened that Ukrainian drones could fly over the Russian capital of Moscow on May 9, when Russia is set to host a military parade marking the 81st anniversary of victory in World War II.
Following the event, Armenia’s ambassador in Moscow was summoned to protest Zelenskyy’s remarks and informed of the “categorical unacceptability” of giving the Ukrainian president a platform to make what Moscow described as “terrorist threats” against Russia.
