New Armenian Premier re-promises no anti-Russian rhetoric

At the Eurasian Economic Union summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Nikol Pashinyan, who became the Prime Minister of Armenia after large-scale protests.

Nikol Pashinyan has announced the allied relations between the countries are unchanged. He also noted that the "strategic relations between Armenia and Russia" do not need to be discussed.

According to Nikol Pashinyan, Yerevan wants to "give impetus to trade and economic relations" with Russia, including in the tourist and military-technical spheres.

Armenian political analyst Hayk Khalatyan has mentioned two problems Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin will have to discuss, the "Gazeta.ru" reports. The first of those problems is the supply of weapons to Azerbaijan by Russia. Nikol Pashinyan will raise the issue of the Russia's refusal to supply at least offensive weapons, Hayk Khalatyan believes.

The second problem is tariffs for gas coming from Russia for the population of Armenia.

Earlier, Nikol Pashinyan often criticized relations with Russia. So, in October 2017, he said that "during the past 20-25 years, Russia grain by grain takes our sovereignty."

However, with the start of protests against the election of Serzh Sargsyan as the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan's rhetoric towards Moscow has been softened.