Cold shower from Armenia to Putin: ‘I think there was a misunderstanding’

The tension between Russia and Armenia has been growing for some time.

The crisis came to light when Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan failed to sign the joint statement at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSO) summit in Yerevan in November. In his speech at the meeting, Pashinyan claimed that Azerbaijan occupied the territory of Armenia and accused the CSTO of not taking any action on it.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Armenia will remain a member of the CSTO, saying: “A consensus could not be reached on all issues and this incident once again demonstrated the importance of this format.”

Finally, Pashinyan denied Russia’s statement last week, announcing that they would not host the Russian-led CSTO exercise. The Russian Defense Ministry announced last week that the 2023 CSTO exercise will take place in Armenia.

“WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT RUSSIAN SOLDIERS”

Pashinyan said: “We do not criticize the Russian peacekeepers, but we are concerned about their activities and these concerns have long-standing roots.” Pashinyan, who almost challenged Russia by arguing that Russia’s military presence in his country is a threat rather than security, said: “I think there was a misunderstanding” in Moscow’s statement on the exercise.

Following this statement, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said: “I think my CSTO colleagues will get in touch. They will clarify the details of the position of Armenia. “We will continue the dialogue, even on very difficult issues at this time,” he said.

Pashinyan, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the November summit, claimed that they could not agree on some issues at the CSTO summit, in his open speech to the press.