The next few days will be busy for Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who on Saturday (8 September) will meet in Moscow with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The meeting is considered to be highly important for the Armenian leader given some tensions that have emerged in Russian-Armenian reklations since he assumed power in May.
According to the Kremlin website the main issues to be discussed are "the development of Russian-Armenian allied relations, as well as the cooperation in the Eurasian integration entities".
In an interview broadact on Thursday, Pashinyan told the TV programme of the Armenian armed forces that Armenian-Russian relations "should be at a much higher level, much more strategic, much more partner-based, much more brotherly."
"From the very first interactions with the leaders of the [other] CSTO countries, it became apparent to me that this same matter exists at them too," Pashinyan noted with respect to Armenia's relations along the lines of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). "First, to record the existence of the problem, and to discuss the matters patiently, in an allied climate and within logic, so that we will know what obligations the CSTO has before Armenia, and what obligations the Republic of Armenia has before the CSTO and its [other] member countries."
Shortly after his visit to Moscow Pashinyan will also visit Paris, where on Friday (15 Serptember ) he is expected to meet with French president, Emanuel Macron. France is traditionally the west's closest country to Armenia and Pashinyan is also expected to discuss the preparations for a large summit of heads of government of Francophonie countries due to be held in Yerevan next month.
source; commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin at their meeting on 13 June 2018 (archive picture)
