24 January: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lashed out at nationalists who call for cutting off government funding to the Northern Caucasus as well as those who want to create regional separatist parties, saying their positions could lead to the collapse of

Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan are expected to meet in Bishkek next week on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov confirmed this according to the Russian agency, TASS. “We will have a conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Our leaders have already spoken following the elections held in Armenia, so it is fairly clear what the conversation will be about,” Ushakov said. He added that, among other issues, the leaders will discuss Yerevan’s aspiration to join the EU and its cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union. “We continue to insist that Armenia cannot aspire to EU membership while at the same time receiving enormous benefits from its cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union. This issue must somehow be resolved. And the President and the Prime Minister will undoubtedly discuss it,” Ushakov said. The meeting comes as Russia continues to put unprecedented pressure on Armenia. Using very undiplomatic language, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, on Friday (28 August), called on Pashinyan to stop shifting responsibility for Armenia's problems onto Russia and the CSTO. In 2022, the Armenian Prime Minister personally refused the deployment of the organization's mission, opting instead for Western mediation in Prague, where he officially recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, recalled the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yerevan's attempts to blame Moscow, the church, or its own citizens for the consequences of its own decisions are shameless and contradict historical facts, Zakharova emphasized. "Everyone is to blame in your view. Only you are not to blame." "Nikol Vovayevich, elections in your country have ended. You can stop hanging noodles on the ears of your people. Gather your courage and tell the truth at least once, as it actually happened," wrote Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, addressing Nikol Pashinyan’s statements yesterday. The five-year program of the Armenian government released this week, only speaks of releations with Russia as a "partnership" and omits the previously used term "strategic alliance". Pashinyan told the Armenian parliament this week, "The events of September 2022 took place right before your eyes. A strategic partnership should mean a strategic partnership. If we write 'strategic partnership' in the document now, you will ask why Russia and the CSTO did not fulfill their security obligations in September 2022. What else do I need to tell you?"