If a picture could serve as a declaration of independence, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s meet-and-greet photo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, taken during the just-concluded European Political Community summit, could serve as the prototype.
For much of the post-Soviet era, Armenia was effectively a Russian protectorate. The tight bonds between the two states began fraying after Russia failed to honor its treaty obligations to come to Armenia’s defense during the Second Karabakh War, which ended in 2023 in a disastrous defeat for Yerevan.
Pashinyan’s hearty handshake with Zelenskyy, coupled with the fact that they spoke in English, effectively signaled Yerevan’s intent on making a complete break with the Kremlin and fully embracing a future with the European Union.
“Eight years ago, this country [Armenia] was seen by a lot of countries around the table as a sort of de facto satellite of Russia,” the EU-funded Euronews outlet quoted French President Emmanuel Macron as saying during the summit. He went on to praise Pashinyan for “de-risking this country [Armenia] from Russia.”
Zelenskyy, the Kremlin’s bête noire, tweaked Russia by stating Armenia and Ukraine will strengthen economic relations. “I proposed resuming the work of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation and holding its next meeting this year in Kyiv,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media.
Russian leaders have reacted predictably. A prominent Russian senator, Konstantin Kosachev, assailed what he described in a Telegram post as Armenia’s “betrayal.” He went on to accuse the West of playing a long game, stretching back over a decade and pre-dating Pashinyan’s rise to power, working assiduously to de-couple Armenia from Russia.
