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☆ Russian ally ditching Putin's rival to NATO damages the image Putin wants to project of himself, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewArmenia's announcement that it's going to leave a Russia-led alliance that was set up to rival NATO is a blow to the image Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to project, experts told Business Insider. In fact, experts say it's the opposite of what Putin hoped to achieve with the alliance. But leading it is still important to Putin as, in Putin's mind, "great powers lead alliances and organizations." Armenia snubbing RussiaPashinyan's announcement came after months of snubs against Putin, and criticism of the CSTO in general.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Nikol Pashinyan, Putin, Davis Ellison, Alexander Cooley, Thomas Graham, snubs, Pashinyan, Graham, Armenia doesn't Organizations: Service, NATO, Collective Security, Organization, Business, The Hague, Strategic Studies, Columbia University, Yale, Armenia's, Reuters, Getty Locations: Russia, Armenia, Kremlin, Soviet Union, Moscow, Soviet, East, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Washington, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

☆ One of Russia's allies says it is quitting Putin's rival to NATO, in the latest snub to the Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewA key Russian ally said it's quitting the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a group widely considered to be President Vladimir Putin's answer to NATO. The prime minister told lawmakers: "We will leave. Related storiesTensions have heightened between Russia and Armenia since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Pashinyan has refused to endorse on multiple occasions. Frankopan said the latest development may not end with Armenia leaving the CSTO if negotiations take place.

Persons: —, it's, Vladimir Putin's, Nikol Pashinyan, he'd, Pashinyan, Putin, Pashinyan's, Dmitry Peskov, Peter Frankopan, Frankopan Organizations: Service, Security, Organization, NATO, Armenian, Associated Press, Business, AP, Kremlin, Oxford University, West . Relations, Ukraine —, Azerbaijan, International Criminal Locations: Russian, Russia, Moscow, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Balkans, Azerbaijan

☆ A longtime Russia ally suspended participation in Putin's NATO rival after calling it ineffective
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Armenia, formally a key ally of Russia, has suspended its participation in a Russia-led international alliance, according to its prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. The Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, is considered Russia's equivalent to NATO, and Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped it could rival the Western military alliance. But splinters have emerged in the group since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Armenia has repeatedly challenged its usefulness. Pashinyan has frequently expressed frustration with Russia and the CSTO in recent years, accusing the alliance of being ineffective and describing Armenia as no longer an ally of Russia. Frustrations with Russia have also risen among other CSTO members, experts told Business Insider last year.

Persons: Nikol, Vladimir Putin, Pashinyan, France24, Putin, snubs, Jaroslava Barbieri Organizations: NATO, Security, Organization, Moscow Times, Soviet Union, University of Birmingham Locations: Armenia, Russian, CSTO, Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, Azerbaijan, France, Eurasia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Iran, North Korea, China, tatters

☆ Armenia Can No Longer Rely on Russia for Military and Defence Needs - PM Pashinyan Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as its main defence and military partner because Moscow has repeatedly let it down so Yerevan must think about forging closer ties with the United States and France, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. Armenia, a tiny former Soviet republic bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, has long relied on Russia as a big power ally, though Pashinyan has angered the Kremlin by questioning the foundations of the alliance. Pashinyan said Armenia should think about what security ties it should build with the United States, France, India and Georgia. Pashinyan says Russia failed Armenia when Azerbaijan launched a lightning-fast military operation that took back control over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, triggering an outflow of ethnic Armenians living there. Azerbaijan has accused France of sowing the seeds of a new war by supplying arms to Armenia, which is also being courted by the United States.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Armenian Public, Russian Federation Locations: MOSCOW, Armenia, Russia, Moscow, Yerevan, United States, France, Soviet, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, India, Israel, Gaza, Soviet Union, Karabakh, South Caucasus

☆ Russia: Armenia Skipping CSTO Summit Is Latest Anti-Russian Move Orchestrated by West
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday that Armenian Prime Minister's Nikol Pashinyan's decision to stay away from a summit of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) was the latest anti-Russian move by Armenia orchestrated by the West. Relations between Russia and Armenia, which are formally allies, have soured in recent months, with Yerevan publicly questioning the value of its partnership with Russia and trying to deepen ties with the West. Some Armenians blamed Russia for failing to stop what Baku called an anti-terrorist operation, an allegation that Moscow has rejected. Russian Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Russia saw Pashinyan's refusal to attend the CSTO summit as the latest in a "chain" of events. The West, whose plans in Ukraine have failed, is now gripping Armenia, trying to tear it away from Russia," she said.

Persons: Minister's Nikol, Maria Zakharova, Armenpress, Dmitry Antonov, Felix Light, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Security, Organisation, West . Relations, West, Russian Foreign, Russia Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Armenia, Yerevan, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Baku, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Armenia sees no advantage in keeping Russian military bases -PM to WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives at the Palace of Charles V on the day of the European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain October 5, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Armenia sees no advantage in continuing to host Russian military bases on its territory after Azerbaijan retook the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian prime minister told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Wednesday. "These events have essentially brought us to a decision that we need to diversify our relationships in the security sphere, and we are trying to do that now," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the WSJ. Russia's military presence in Armenia includes garrisons in two locations and an airbase. Later on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian authorities were unaware of Pashinyan's comments.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Charles V, Jon Nazca, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Felix Light, Maxim Rodionov, Gareth Jones, Leslie Adler Organizations: Armenia's, Political Community Summit, REUTERS, Rights, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: Granada, Spain, Armenia, Russian, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Soviet Union, Moscow, Caucasus

☆ Armenia to accept International Court's remit, vexing Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The entrance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague March 3, 2011. A spokeswoman for the Yerevan parliament said 60 deputies had voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and 22 had voted against. "We would not want the president to have to refuse visits to Armenia for some reason," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. Armenia says it had discussed its ICC plans with Russia, after Moscow warned in March of "serious consequences". Yerevan has said its move addresses what it says are war crimes committed by Azerbaijan in a long-running conflict with Armenia, although ICC jurisdiction will not be retroactive.

Persons: Jerry Lampen, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Nikol Pashinyan, Peskov, Pashinyan, Aysor.am, Vahan Kerobyan, Kevin Liffey, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Criminal Court, REUTERS, Armenia, Armenia Bilateral, ICC, Kremlin, Collective Security, Organisation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hague, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine Russia, The Hague, vexing Russia, Moscow, Yerevan, Rome, Ukraine, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, Russian

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives a televised address to the nation in Yerevan, Armenia, in this picture released September 24, 2023. "We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a massive mistake by deliberately trying to destroy Armenia's multi-faceted and centuries-old ties with Russia while making the country hostage to the geopolitical games of the West," it said. Moscow denied suggestions that it had any hand in protests in Yerevan and cautioned Pashinyan that while Russia did not stoke revolutions, the West did. "The head of the Armenian government should be well aware that Moscow does not get involved in such things - unlike the West which is pretty adept at organizing 'colour revolutions'," Russia said. Russia blames the United States for stoking so-called colour revolutions in several post-Soviet republics including Ukraine.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Armenian, REUTERS, Rights, Karabakh, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Yerevan, Armenia, Handout, Russia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Moscow, Baku, Azerbaijan, Russian, United States, Ukraine

☆ Russia Tells Armenian PM: You Are Making a Big Mistake by Flirting With West
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a massive mistake by deliberately trying to destroy Armenia's multi-faceted and centuries-old ties with Russia while making the country hostage to the geopolitical games of the West," it said. Pashinyan's remarks about transforming alliances indicate that he is preparing to pivot away from Armenia's alliance with Moscow towards the West, the Russian foreign ministry said. Moscow denied suggestions that it had any hand in protests in Yerevan and cautioned Pashinyan that while Russia did not stoke revolutions, the West did. "The head of the Armenian government should be well aware that Moscow does not get involved in such things - unlike the West which is pretty adept at organizing 'colour revolutions'," Russia said. Russia blames the United States for stoking so-called colour revolutions in several post-Soviet republics including Ukraine.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Armenian, Karabakh, Reuters Locations: Russia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Moscow, Baku, Armenia, Yerevan, Azerbaijan, Russian, United States, Ukraine

[1/2] Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia September 22, 2023. Images of fleeing Armenians at Russia's own peacekeeping base at an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh have been harder for them to watch. But its handling of the Karabakh crisis has forced it into a blame game with Armenia and obliged it to defend its foreign policy in the region. It now accuses him of triggering the crisis by saying - after Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Karabakh in 2020 following Armenia's defeat in a 44-day war - that he recognised Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Baku has long argued that Karabakh falls within its own borders, but Karabakh Armenians wanted Pashinyan to recognise their independence and unify them with Armenia.

Persons: Irakli, Alexander Baunov, Russia's, Sergei Markov, Pashinyan, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Margarita Simonyan, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Armenian, Soviet, Carnegie, Karabakh, Protesters, Kremlin, Russian, Security Council, NATO, Thomson Locations: Karabakh, Armenia, Kornidzor, Russia, Azerbaijan Moscow, Kabul, U.S, Afghanistan, Nagorno, Turkish, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Soviet Union, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, South Caucasus, Stepanakert, Russian, America, Baku ., Yerevan, Baku, Pashinyan

☆ The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis raises serious questions for Russia — and the West
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The contested mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under de-facto Armenian control since the early 1990s. It follows an abrupt 24-hour offensive by Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday that swiftly broke through ethnic Armenian lines, seized strategic positions and resulted in the surrender of separatist forces. Armenia, which has typically looked to Russia as a security guarantor, said Azerbaijan's military operation was an attempt to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh, a charge Baku has denied. Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan of violating a cease-fire agreement, with Reuters reporting gunfire could be heard in the region's capital on Thursday. Armenians attend a rally in Yerevan on September 21, 2023, following Azerbaijani military operations against Armenian separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persons: Karen Minasyan, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Japaridze, Pashinyan, Karabakh, Kusa, Pashynian's Organizations: Government, Armenian, Afp, Getty, CNBC, Eurasia Group, Kremlin, Collective Security, Organization, NATO, Anadolu Agency, Ukrainian Institute, Russian Embassy Locations: Yerevan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Caucasus, South Caucasus, Russia, Baku, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, London

☆ Who is Nikol Pashinyan, embattled prime minister of Armenia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses parliament following an escalation in hostilities over the Nagorno-Karabakh region along the border of Armenia with Azerbaijan, in Yerevan, Armenia, September 13, 2022. Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsYEREVAN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who finds himself at the centre of a new crisis after Azerbaijan launched an offensive this week in the breakaway Armenian-populated territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. - Pashinyan, 48, is a former journalist who became prime minister after a wave of street protests, sometimes referred to as Armenia's Velvet Revolution, toppled his predecessor in 2018. - Pashinyan has engaged in successive rounds of talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in search of a peace agreement between two countries. - Pashinyan is likely to come under fierce domestic pressure again if Azerbaijan takes back control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Tigran Mehrabyan, Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin, Mark Trevelyan, William Maclean Organizations: Armenian, Rights, Criminal, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Yerevan, Rights YEREVAN, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

Azerbaijan said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took "retaliatory measures". Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a "puppet separatist regime" and said the vote was illegal. Both Ukraine and Baku's traditional ally Turkey condemned the election, and expressed support for Azerbaijan's claim to Karabakh. In the capitals of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, residents told Reuters they feared a new war between the two countries. In Armenia's capital Yerevan, a local resident who gave his name as Hayk accused Azerbaijan of wanting to start another war.

Persons: Artem Mikryukov, Baku, Armenia's, Armenpress, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Yuri Kim, Pashinyan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Shahramanyan, Mansura Lahicova, Mark Trevelyan, Felix, Felix Light, Ros Russell, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, International Committee, Reuters, Karabakh, U.S, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Taghavard, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia TBILISI, Baku, Armenia, Askeran, Russian, Soviet Union, Yerevan, France, Germany, Iran, Georgia, U.S, Turkey, Russia, Moscow, Reuters Baku, Ukraine, Armenia's, Tbilisi

☆ Armenia says it will stage joint military exercise with US next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 6 (Reuters) - Armenia said on Wednesday it would host a joint military exercise with the United States next week, a development likely to irritate Russia. The Armenian Defence Ministry said the purpose of the Sept. 11-20 "Eagle Partner 2023" exercise was to prepare its forces to take part in international peacekeeping missions. Russia has a military base in Armenia and sees itself as the pre-eminent power in the South Caucasus region, which until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union. It maintains a peacekeeping force in the region to uphold an agreement that ended a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, the second they have fought since the Soviet collapse. "Russia plays a consistent, very important role in stabilising the situation in this region ... and we will continue to play this role."

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Dmitry Peskov, Pashinyan's, Mark Trevelyan, Christina Fincher Organizations: United, Armenian Defence Ministry, Eagle, Thomson Locations: Armenia, United States, Russia, U.S, South Caucasus, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Soviet, Italian, Ukraine

☆ Armenia to exercise with US troops next week, Russia voices concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 6 (Reuters) - Armenia said on Wednesday it would host a joint military exercise with the United States next week, a development that Russia said was cause for concern. The Armenian Defence Ministry said the purpose of the Sept. 11-20 "Eagle Partner 2023" exercise was to prepare its forces to take part in international peacekeeping missions. Russia has a military base in Armenia and sees itself as the pre-eminent power in the South Caucasus region, which until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a weekend interview with an Italian newspaper that Russia had failed to protect Armenia against what he called continuing aggression from Azerbaijan. "Russia plays a consistent, very important role in stabilising the situation in this region ... and we will continue to play this role."

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Nikol Pashinyan, Peskov, Pashinyan's, Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: United, Armenian Defence Ministry, Eagle, Kansas National Guard, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Armenia, United States, Russia, U.S, South Caucasus, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Soviet, Italian, Ukraine

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Sunday, Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia of failing to ensure Armenia's security in the face of what he said was aggression from neighbouring Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. "Armenia's security architecture was 99.999% linked to Russia, including when it came to the procurement of arms and ammunition," Pashinyan told La Repubblica. "This example should demonstrate to us that dependence on just one partner in security matters is a strategic mistake." His words underscore resentment inside Armenia about what many there see as a failure by Russia to defend their interests. Pashinyan accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to uphold the ceasefire deal of failing to do their job.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Andrew Osborn, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Russian, Italian, Repubblica, European Union, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, Caucasus, Yerevan, United States, Ukraine, Russian, Baku, Nagorno

☆ A member of Putin's NATO equivalent said it is 'not Russia's ally' in the fight against Ukraine, further splintering the alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Armenia, a member of the CSTO, said it is "not Russia's ally in the war with Ukraine." The CSTO is Russia's equivalent of NATO, but members have snubbed Putin since its invasion of Ukraine. Experts say the alliance is crumbling as Russia's invasion exacerbated existing tensions. "We are not Russia's ally in the war with Ukraine. Some of those snubs directly related to the Ukraine war, including Kazakhstan denying Russia's request to send troops when the invasion began.

Persons: Putin, —, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Vladimir Putin, it's, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: NATO, Service, CNN Prima, Security, Organization, Reuters Locations: Armenia, Ukraine, Czech, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Moscow

☆ The EU and the “changing” Eastern neighborhood - between “post-factum diplomacy” and realpolitik, Analysis by Dionis Cenușă
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-14 | by ( ) www.ipn.md time to read: +21 min

The EU and the “changing” Eastern neighborhood - between “post-factum diplomacy” and realpolitik, Analysis by Dionis CenușăOp-EdThe diversity of realities in Eastern Europe requires from the EU a "differentiated diplomacy" which emerges from the dynamics of local and external factors, dominant in the region ...Dionis Cenuşa, Senior ContributorThe European strategy for the Eastern Neighborhood is losing ground to the ever-changing reality. It is these shortcomings that define European diplomacy of post-factum, which remains relevant in 2020. First of all, Russia has structural levers that can influence the situation on the ground in the Eastern Partnership states. Instead, the emphasis of Westerners is on calming the political situation, without encouraging the opposition to annul the results of the parliamentary elections. Dionis Cenuşa, Senior Contributor Dionis Cenuşa, Senior ContributorAreas of research: European Neighborhood Policy, EU-Moldova relationship, EU's foreign policy and Russia, migration and energy security.

Persons: Cenușă, Dionis Cenuşa, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Maia Sandu's, Fiasco, Igor Dodon, Maia Sandu, Vladimir Putin, oligarch Bidzina, Ivanishvili, Nikol, ”, Ilham Aliyev's, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Hanns Seidel Organizations: EU, European People's Party, Social Democrats, Eastern Partnership, Eastern, Constitutional, Socialist, OSCE, Moldovan, Russian, Hanns Seidel Foundation, IPN Press Agency, Policy, Institute of Political Sciences, Liebig, Justus University, College of Europe, Twitter Locations: Eastern Europe, EU, Belarus, Nagorno, Karabakh, Brussels, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Chisinau, Moldovan, Turkey, South Caucasus, Yerevan, Moscow, Baku, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Iran, Ankara, Minsk, Belarusian, Giessen, Germany

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