The meeting between the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, took place at the Kremlin. The Armenian government has presented the transcript of the meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin – Dear Nikol Vladimirovich, dear friends, we are very glad to see you in Moscow. Thank you very much for accepting the invitation.
Internal political processes in Armenia are gaining momentum, and elections are approaching. What would I like to draw attention to in this regard? I want to touch upon several circumstances. The main thing is that these internal political processes, and they always intensify during any election campaign, this aggravation, I am sure, is the same in Armenia as in Russia and in other countries of the world, so that they do not harm our relations between Russia and Armenia in any way.
We have talked about this with you many times. Russia and Armenia have special relations; they have been formed not over decades, but over centuries. We are united by a common history and by solving common problems in the past through joint efforts. A common civilization also unites us. This is extremely important.
I told you once in a private conversation; I can say it publicly now: we are always satisfied with everything that serves the interests of the Armenian people. And you can always take this into account.
As for the economy, it is developing at a good pace. The year before last, the turnover amounted to 11 billion dollars. And the year before that, in 2025, it was 6.4 billion. I want to draw attention to the fact that, for example, with the neighboring country of Azerbaijan, this figure is less than five billion, 4.9. However, this indicates something. And of that 6.5 billion, 1.2 billion dollars are agricultural products. These are vegetables, fruits, wine, that is, everything that Armenia exports.
In this regard, of course, we have also discussed some issues with you; some of them are quite important for our relations. These are, for example, energy and agriculture, which I have already mentioned.
A discussion is underway in Armenia on developing relations with the European Union. We treat this completely calmly; we understand that any country seeks to derive maximum benefit from cooperation with third countries. However, it must be obvious, it must be said honestly, in advance, as they say, from the very beginning, that being in a customs union with the European Union and being in the EAEU is impossible. It is simply impossible. And the issue is not even political but purely economic. Because some issues require extensive joint work that must be carried out over the years, this is reflected in the assessment of individual product groups and in the entry of these groups into the market. This is a phytosanitary control for all products. Phytosanitary requirements in Russia and in the European Union countries are completely different; they differ significantly. There are also many other problems that today, at this moment, at some point, maybe years later, we, the EAEU and the European Union, I hope that it will be so, after all, we live on the same continent, we will be able to regulate relations. But even before the Ukrainian crisis, when we tried to reach an agreement with the Europeans to work together, nothing worked. They take a very tough position on practically every issue, even on issues that seemed minor to me at the time.
Now, as for energy. The situation will be regulated here as well. But as of today, you know, the prices of energy carriers, for example, the price of gas in Europe exceeds $ 600 per 1000 cubic meters, and Russia sells gas to Armenia for $ 177.5 per 1000 cubic meters. The difference is big. The difference is significant.
We often argue with you on this issue. I know you insist on other methods for determining the price of energy carriers, but these are, nevertheless, different situations: 600 and 177.5.
And if we look at what is happening with the Armenian economy, it seems to me that you also assess it that way. In recent years, Armenia’s exports to the EAEU countries have increased 10 times. I repeat, this is your decision, ultimately the decision of your team, your experts, where and with whom, on what basis to work.
Now, security-related issues. Of course, the most sensitive issue to date, we understand this, we often talk about it, is everything that is related to Karabakh. We always talk about it. And we know that both you and your partners have had and still have questions and certain dissatisfaction with the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the CSTO. We always return to this issue. But I think it is also obvious that after you acknowledged in Prague in 2022 that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, the CSTO’s intervention in this process, which has acquired an intra-Azerbaijani hue, was absolutely wrong in that regard, in relation to the reunification of Karabakh, if we consider it part of Azerbaijan. This is not an assessment. I am not saying that this is good or bad. From the point of view of organizing a peaceful life, it probably made sense.
And today, thanks to your efforts and the President of Azerbaijan, we have reached a level of stabilization in relations, and the US President also took an active part in this. And, transport routes are also being unblocked, etc. Here, we need to explore ways to strengthen relations further. But here too we should put an end to it, and it would be better if this did not become part of the domestic political process, especially during the election campaign.
And finally, we have many friends in Armenia, many, we know that. Many Armenians live in the Russian Federation. We can calculate differently; we consider it more than 2 million people. And the statistical data of our Ministry of Internal Affairs itself testify to this. And many political forces are pro-Russian. Of course, I will tell you openly that there is a dialogue between us, and we always speak honestly and directly. We would like all these political parties and figures to participate in this internal political work during the elections. Some, I know, are in places of detention, even though they have a Russian passport. That is your decision; we do not interfere, but we would like them to be able to participate in this internal political process at least.
And once again, no matter what happens, we in Russia will always be guided by what is beneficial to the Armenian people themselves. I have always told you this, and I want to emphasize it once again. No matter how the elections in Armenia turn out, our common disposition to build and strengthen Russian-Armenian relations will remain. Thank you.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan: Thank you very much, Vladimir Vladimirovich. First of all, thank you for the invitation and warm welcome.
We, of course, recently met in St. Petersburg and held very successful negotiations. However, our relations are so rich that frequent meetings are necessary, and there is always something to discuss at a high level.
Of course, our relations with the Russian Federation are very deep and very important for us, and, in my opinion, they are developing dynamically in the context of new realities emerging in our region, following the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And this also has a positive impact on our relations with the Russian Federation, because for the first time since the beginning of our independence, we have a railway connection with Russia, and we import goods from Russia by rail through Azerbaijan. In the near future, we will also export. And this, of course, strengthens our traditional economic ties and those within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.
As for the European Union, of course, we know that membership in the two associations is incompatible in principle, but what we are doing and the agenda that we have are compatible, at least at the moment. This is a fact. And as long as there is an opportunity to combine these agendas, we will continue to combine them. And when the processes reach the point where a decision will be necessary, I am sure that we, I mean the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, will make that decision.
Of course, in this context, our relations with the Russian Federation have never been, and will never be, in doubt, because, as I have already noted, these ties are very deep and not subject to discussion.
Of course, we also cooperate in the energy sector, and here, too, we have traditionally strong ties. We are currently working very closely with the Russian side to develop the field of new technologies, I mean new energy technologies, because new energy technologies are developing very well in Armenia, solar energy, etc.
You know we are also discussing building a new nuclear power plant with the Russian Federation. We are completely transparent in these matters. We do not hide that we are discussing these issues not only with Russian partners but also with other partners, because we are looking for the most beneficial offer for the Republic of Armenia. As I said, peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. You mentioned President Trump, and it is obvious he has contributed to this process, but it is also obvious that you are personally involved. And by the way, in August of last year, when I returned from Washington and called you, I said at that time that what happened in Washington also opens up new opportunities for our relations.
And now it is a fact, I have already mentioned the railway connection between Russia and Armenia. We have been working on this topic for decades, but unfortunately, we have never reached such a decision.
As for the issues related to Karabakh, I have already stated very transparently and publicly in the Republic of Armenia that we should not continue the Karabakh movement, because peace has already been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity, political independence and sovereignty, based on the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, which means that we mutually recognize that independent Armenia is 100% identical to Soviet Armenia, and independent Azerbaijan is 100% identical to Soviet Azerbaijan.
This is a solid basis for further peace development. And, of course, I would like to thank you once again for the support that I have always felt in the process of establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have discussed the Karabakh issue many times, mainly in a working format. Yes, we recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Still, we did so only after the top leadership of the Russian Federation publicly announced it twice, and you remember, we have repeatedly spoken about it. And we have never hidden our problems with the CSTO, because in 2022, we had a specific situation. And the CSTO mechanisms should have been activated, but they were not, and this, of course, led to the situation we have in relations with the CSTO. We are not currently participating in the CSTO’s work for a simple reason: we are still unable to explain to our people, our citizens, why the CSTO did not react, despite the obligations under the Collective Security Treaty.
As for our domestic political processes, you know, Armenia is a democratic country, and we have them almost all the time, which is already a normal phenomenon for us. In fact, we hold municipal elections twice a year, which are also very politicized, because as a result of our political reforms, people there also vote for or against political parties. I want to say that we have citizens who think that there is too much democracy in Armenia. But this is a matter of principle for us. For example, social networks are 100% free in our country, with no restrictions at all, and many citizens think this is too much.
In the broader context, we do not have participants in political processes in places of detention. And I would like to draw attention to the fact that, for example, we have parliamentary elections coming up. These are elections for deputies and, de facto, elections for the prime minister. And I want your attention to the fact that only citizens who have exclusively Armenian passports can participate in these elections. That is, with all due respect, persons with Russian passports, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, cannot be candidates for deputies or for prime minister. There are no restrictions here.
And I am 100% sure that you know that our relations with the Russian Federation and our personal relations have gone through many trials in recent years. And I am very happy, and I want to thank you once again for the atmosphere of trust you have created. First of all, if you did not want us to have such open and trusting relations, it is obvious that I would not have been able to do this. And I want to thank you once again.
And I am sure that, as a result of our upcoming elections, democracy and people’s power will be further strengthened in Armenia, and our relations will also be strengthened, continuing to develop dynamically based on the election results. Of course, I have already said that our agenda is very rich, but many opportunities have not yet been taken advantage of. As a result of our dialogue, these opportunities will be used. Thank you.
