Moscow announced Saturday that it has withdrawn its diplomatic representative from Armenia for discussions, expressing displeasure over the nation’s growing relationship with the European Union with elections approaching on June 7.
The Caucasus country, home to approximately 3 million residents, maintains a formal alliance with Russia but has been strengthening connections with Western nations in recent years, even while remaining economically tied to Moscow.
“The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia, S.P. Kopyrkin, has been recalled to Moscow for consultations in connection with steps taken by the Armenian leadership toward rapprochement with the European Union,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated regarding diplomat Sergei Kopyrkin.
On Friday, a Moscow-led economic alliance of former Soviet states announced it would review potentially suspending Armenia for pursuing EU membership and urged the capital to conduct a public referendum on the matter.
Polling data for the upcoming June vote indicates that pro-Western Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political party holds a lead over opposition groups favoring Russia.
U.S. President Donald Trump has given his backing to Pashinyan, who rose to leadership following a 2018 popular uprising and secured re-election in 2021.
Armenian officials contend that Russia did not provide adequate security during military conflicts with neighboring Azerbaijan, particularly regarding disputes over Nagorno-Karabakh, a previously separatist territory with ethnic Armenian residents that Azerbaijan reclaimed in 2023.
Moscow maintains that Western nations are interfering in Armenian affairs to diminish Russian authority throughout the former Soviet territories.
Armenian officials have not yet responded publicly to the diplomatic recall announcement.
