EU or Eurasia: Why Putin sparred with Armenia’s PM

What the report says

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that Armenia’s push toward closer ties with the European Union could complicate its role in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, or EEU, during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan. The discussion came as relations between Moscow and Yerevan have fallen to historic lows, with Armenia increasingly looking to the West.

According to Al Jazeera’s report, Putin said Armenia has the right to choose its own path, but he argued that EU accession aspirations could affect trade with Russia and undermine the benefits Armenia gets from EEU membership. Pashinyan replied that Armenia had not broken any commitments to Russia or the EEU and said the EU process was an alternative his government had presented to the Armenian public, not a formal exit from the bloc.

The dispute reflects a broader shift in Armenian foreign policy after Russia did not intervene militarily during the 2023 fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, which intensified doubts in Yerevan about Moscow as a security partner. Armenia remains tied to Russia through trade, energy and regional institutions, but it has also deepened contacts with European leaders and received signs of EU political and economic support.

The article notes that Armenia has started a legal process toward possible EU accession, while also insisting it has no immediate plan to leave the EEU. That leaves Yerevan trying to balance two competing alignments, a challenge that has become increasingly contentious for both governments.