Russia wants Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to lose the upcoming election due to his increasing engagement with Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
Rubio made the remarks while briefing U.S. lawmakers at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the TRIPP project, a proposed U.S.-managed transit and trade corridor intended to connect Azerbaijan to its exclave, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
“The Russians are less than happy about our engagement there. I think there's evidence that they would like the current [Prime Minister] to lose his election as a result of this growing relationship with the United States.”
Under the framework for TRIPP, Armenia would grant a 99-year lease to a U.S.-led consortium to manage the construction and operation of rail, road and energy pipelines, which make up the scheme.
The land through which the transport and energy infrastructure runs through would remain under Armenian control.
Armenia, a landlocked nation of around 3 million, has traditionally had close ties to Moscow and is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.
But in recent years, Pashinyan’s government has looked to forge stronger ties with the U.S. and European Union (EU).
Russia has never said it wants Pashinyan to lose the election but has criticised his pursuit of closer ties with the West.
Western intelligence officials have previously said that Moscow has pursued disinformation campaigns in favour of pro-Russian opposition candidates in an attempt to undermine Pashinyan ahead of the election on 7 June.
Russian Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday (3 June) that the U.S. wasn’t treating Armenia as an equal partner.
Zakharova was responding to a question about Moscow’s assessment of an agreement signed by Armenia and the U.S. in May, which reaffirmed support for the TRIPP project.
In late May, Russia recalled its ambassador to Armenia in protest at the country’s increasing ties with the EU.
"The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia, S.P. Kopyrkin, has been recalled to Moscow for consultations in connection with steps taken by the Armenian leadership toward rapprochement with the European Union," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Speaking at the Senate Relations Committee, Rubio insisted the U.S.'s improving links with Armenia weren’t a threat to Yerevan’s relations with other countries.
“To be clear, we're not there to infringe on Armenian sovereignty. We're not asking them not to be friends with other countries. We just want to be able to have a relationship with them that's built not just on peace. Peace is important, but that's just the beginning.”
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Armenian authorities arrested six candidates from the pro-Russian Strong Armenia bloc on Saturday, one day before voters were due to take part in parliamentary elections.
More than 6,000 people gathered outside a vote-counting centre in Seoul on Friday night, demanding this week’s local elections be repeated after ballot shortages left some voters unable to cast their ballots.
Five Azerbaijani crew members were killed, and three others were injured after two cargo vessels were hit in a drone attack in the Sea of Azov, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, as Russia blamed Ukraine for the strike.
The U.S. said it struck Iranian radar sites on Qeshm Island and in Goruk after intercepting four drones, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launches retaliatory strikes on four tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. bases in the Gulf.
The new AnewZ documentary, TARGET: Yerevan, builds its explosive case on exclusive, secret recordings originally published by Minval Politika.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, newly independent Armenia emerged with the promise of democracy. But in the years that followed, conflicts and political assassinations sidetracked politics in the country, until a 2018 revolution restored momentum to the promise.
Armenian authorities arrested six candidates from the pro-Russian Strong Armenia bloc on Saturday, one day before voters were due to take part in parliamentary elections.
Armenia’s National Assembly election on 7 June is increasingly being viewed not only as a domestic political contest, but also as a vote that could shape the future direction of the South Caucasus.
The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), the ambitious multimodal transit corridor designed to connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia, has moved rapidly from political declaration to practical implementation.
Armenians will vote on Sunday in a parliamentary election that will determine whether Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan secures a new mandate to pursue peace with Azerbaijan or cedes ground to pro-Russian rivals.
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