Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Speaking at United Nations General Assembly's session on 26 September, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that Russia is Armenia’s key strategic partner and ally.

What does it mean?

In fact, Russia is Armenia’s sole ally. To be more precise, Russia is Armenia’s guardian. The thing is, allied relations imply reciprocal actions while Armenia is unable to give anything to Kremlin and Moscow does not need Yerevan as an ally.

Talks about strategic alliance with Moscow have always been on agenda in Armenia. However, this time local media paid special attention to the PM’s statement, given Pashinyan’s track record of being opponent of the Russian presence in Armenia.

After taking power, Pashinyan decided to remain faithful to the political course of Yerevan, realizing that the West was not going to support Armenia in this dangerous confrontation with Moscow. It’s no secret that Pashinyan held anti-Russian position when he was opposition activist – he had made relevant statements, introduced relevant resolutions and amendments to parliament that run counter to Russia’s interests. Although, he personally did not participate in anti-Russian actions after being elected an MP.

However, from the UN tribune, Pashinyan came across as the most pro-Russian leader of Armenia.

On 1 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Yerevan to participate in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

According to Armenian media reports, Yerevan is preparing for the meeting of the President of Russia on two fronts. The first of them will concern official events, and the second - the organization of protests against Putin.

Various government officials are even consolidating the youth who will participate in protests against Putin. According to media reports, the work of activists is coordinated by MP from the My Step faction Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, and the member of the Civil Contract party Arsen Kharatyan. Representatives of the Sasna Tsrer radical party also take part in the planned actions. This explains why Pashinyan met the leadership of the Sasna Tsrer radical party. Apparently, they discussed the organization of anti-Russian events.

According to Armenian media, the purpose of the planned protests is twofold: To demonstrate toPutin that there is dissatisfaction among the public over Yerevan’s pro-Russian policies; to imply that more radical forces could come to power that could severe relations with Russia.

This seems to be the correct analysis of the situation since Armenian authorities are known for pursuing the policy of backstabbing and hypocrisy.

Meanwhile, Pashinyan will not be able to thoroughly discuss all problems with the Russian leader during such a short visit. It’s no secret that the Armenian PM hoped to discuss with Putin the most important issue at the moment - that is Russian gas tariffs that will reportedly increase in a few months. Armenian officials well remember the "Elektromaidan" when a slight increase in electricity charges led to riots lasting several months. They do not want to take any chances any more.

Recently, Armenian media reported that Russian gas tariffs will rise by 30 percent in the near future. However, according to new reports, the tariffs will be even higher on the negotiation table.

Russia has been using gas tariffs as one of its instruments to pull Armenia’s strings. Yerevan’s attempts to get rid of gas dependence on Russia also failed after it was unable to secure better gas deal with Iran.

In early 2019, tariffs for Russian gas for Armenia increased, although they remained the same for the population. However, experts warned that tariffs will inevitably increase for citizens because Gazprom’s subsidiary Gazprom-Armenia will not continue to accumulate debts and cover the difference at its own expense.

To make things worse, in September the South Caucasus Railways, which is a 100 percent subsidiary of Russian Railways, announced its decision to terminate agreement on managing Armenia’s railway following pressure from the authorities that included a criminal case on tax evasion charges raised against the company.

These problems worsen the already tense situation between the two countries.

Apparently, Pashinyan had been hoping that Moscow would fight for a "new", “post-revolutionary” Armenia with the West. The truth is that Moscow does not need to engage in battles for the love of Yerevan. It is enough to raise energy tarrifs.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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