The Kremlin reacted to this week’s allocation of 10 million euros in military assistance to Armenia by the European Union by expressing hope that Yerevan will not ‘repeat the Ukraine scenario.’
Saying that Russia considers Armenia a “brotherly country,” the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said that Yerevan does not follow the path chosen by the Kyiv regime, in its aspirations to deepen ties with the EU and the West.
“Armenia is a sovereign country that chooses its own priority areas of interaction. At the same time, for Russia, Armenia remains our ally, a brotherly country,” Peskov emphasized.
“We respect such searches, but only we would not want these searches to be carried out in the manner that the Kiev regime once chose,” Peskov added.
In addition to the EU’s pledge for military assistance, the bloc also announced that it will begin visa liberalization talks with Yerevan. At the same time, the United States announced that it was embedding a U.S. Army representative inside Armenia’s defense ministry, saying that Washington was interested in supporting Armenia’s security sector.
These recent overtures by Yerevan to the West have compounded and deepened the rift between Armenia and Russia, including Yerevan’s decision to freeze its participation in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Last week, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Overchuk warned Yerevan that its actions to distance itself from the CSTO might have reciprocal consequences to Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, which is currently being chaired by Armenia.
Russia announced last week that it was significantly limiting its export of Armenian produce, citing safety concerns. Russia is the largest importer of Armenia’s agriculture output.
