Armenian-Russian Relations Much Better Than Reported: Lavrov's Talks with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan and Presser

Yesterday in Moscow, Lavrov held extensive talks with Armenia’s FM Ararat Mirzoyan, after which a joint presser was held where Lavrov gave a detailed report that illustrated relations aren’t as dire as many have presumed given the behavior of PM Pashinyan and his dalliances with the EU. At the end of the somewhat short Q&A session, Lavrov is asked about his initial impressions of Trump:

Good afternoon

Ladies and gentlemen,

It has been a long time since we held such detailed talks on bilateral affairs. We met on the sidelines of various events, but it has been a long time since we have been able to discuss in such detail almost the entire range of issues on the agenda of our relations. I am glad that we have overcome this pause today.

I would like to emphasise that the talks that took place by agreement between the leaders of Russia and Armenia were very rich and productive. They were a follow-up to the ideas reached during the contacts between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

We had a frank discussion of almost the entire spectrum of our relations, as well as regional and international issues. We managed to reach mutually acceptable solutions on a number of issues.

Our countries maintain a regular dialogue at the highest level. The President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Armenia have met more than once, last autumn and winter. On January 17, they had a telephone conversation.

Ararat Mirzoyan and I agree that such trust-based communication between the leaders sets a benchmark for the further development of cooperation between the two countries, including through the foreign ministries.

For our part, we stressed our commitment to the entire range of agreements with Yerevan, including in the military-political sphere. They have been formalised at the bilateral level and within the framework of our common integration associations.

At the same time, we are interested in ensuring that our relations are not negatively affected by extra-regional "players" who are not interested in strengthening the Russian-Armenian alliance.

We hope that the entire array of mutually beneficial bilateral ties accumulated over many years will be in demand, and we will cooperate mutually beneficially in all these areas (military-political, economic, cultural and humanitarian).

Bilateral mechanisms are working smoothly. At the end of 2024, the 38th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia, was held.

We are working on a visit to Armenia by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko. We hope that we will be able to coincide with, as we discussed today, the 10th Russian-Armenian Interregional Forum.

There is a need to step up cooperation between our ministries. I will certainly take the invitation to pay a visit to Yerevan. Ararat Mirzoyan confirmed it to me today. We will also resume and maintain the regular dialogue between the deputy ministers. We agreed to prepare another two-year plan for consultations between the foreign ministries in the near future.

We discussed the prospects for expanding our mutual consular presence, including Russia's presence in Armenia's Syunik Province. This is a strategically important region. We believe that expanding diplomatic missions and increasing their number is in the interests of our countries.

We particularly noted the record growth rates of trade, which over the past year will approach and perhaps even exceed the mark of $12 billion, that is, a billion per month. This is indeed an unprecedented pace.

Russia remains Armenia's key foreign trade and investment partner. Our companies are invariably leaders in terms of tax deductions to the budget of the Republic and one of the largest employers. Russian business (we know and see this) is interested in further expanding its operations in the Armenian market. We appreciate the attitude of the Armenian leadership towards our businessmen.

We discussed cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. In many respects, it continues to play a positive role in achieving the figures of our trade turnover that I have mentioned. Statistics show that the EAEU has become one of the foundations of the socioeconomic development of both Russia and Armenia, a factor in the sustainable growth of our economies in a difficult, as they say, turbulent international situation.

We welcomed the results of Armenia's successful chairmanship of the EAEU bodies in 2024 and talked about practical cooperation within the framework of other associations that include Russia and Armenia, as well as the importance of the South Caucasus for advancing the tasks of strengthening security on the Eurasian continent.

The cultural and humanitarian dimension of our relations is traditionally in great demand among our citizens. We discussed plans to prepare for the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. I would like to note once again that we will be happy to see the Armenian leadership at the invitation of President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the May celebrations in Moscow.

We stressed the importance of preserving the historical truth and the memory of the glorious pages of our common history. We spoke about the situation of the Russian language and education in Armenia and the CIS. We noted with satisfaction the signing of intergovernmental agreements on the activities of the Russian-Armenian University and the Gazprom Armenia Educational and Sports Complex in December 2024.

We talked about our plans to build a school at the Russian Embassy in Yerevan. We have a mutual interest in resuming the Days of Armenian Culture in Russia as soon as possible. I hope that this year we will be able to agree on a generally acceptable date.

We discussed our cooperation at international venues. On most issues on the global agenda, our approaches coincide or are close, including those where we are closely cooperating and coordinating our actions. These include the protection of common traditional spiritual and moral values, the fight against the glorification of Nazism, the preservation of historical memory, the protection of human rights, high technology, including space exploration, the strengthening of the arms control system and many others. We traditionally support the candidacies of representatives of our countries in elections to international bodies.

We talked about regional affairs, including the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalisation. We reaffirmed our unwavering readiness to help Yerevan and Baku, if they are interested, in all areas of this normalisation, including assistance in drafting the provisions of a peace treaty, delimitation and demarcation of borders and unblocking transport communications, as well as on humanitarian issues.

We reaffirmed our interest in the further functioning of the 3+3 consultative format: the three countries of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and their three neighbours (Russia, Iran and Turkey). We consider this platform to be very promising.

On the whole, I believe that we had a useful conversation today. I am sure that the exchange of views that took place today will help resolve the issues that have arisen in our relations recently. They sometimes caused a very inadequate reaction from the media. We also exchanged honest and frank views on this today. We have a common interest in the development of Russian-Armenian relations based on the fundamental, practical interests of our peoples, and are not subject to any opportunistic influence.

Question: You have often, including in today's speech, noted that Russia is making efforts and trying to promote stability and peace in the South Caucasus. However, quite often, in official or media rhetoric, it is clearly noticeable that Russia's position is synchronized with Azerbaijan's approaches. Sometimes they even coincide. How can stability be promoted in such conditions and with such a position?

Sergey Lavrov: I do not quite understand on what basis you conclude that our positions coincide with Azerbaijan in the context of the question of why we have problems in relations with Armenia. So, based on your question, that on the issues of the South Caucasus and on the normalisation of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, you have the impression that we are on the same side. It's not that.

We are dealing with issues that, in our opinion, are very relevant – the normalisation of relations between Yerevan and Baku, based on our deep interest in ensuring that our fraternal peoples live in peace and good-neighbourliness.

We have relations of strategic partnership, alliance with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. We are vitally interested in this. Unlike the countries located far from the South Caucasus and promoting a completely different agenda aimed at maintaining tension here as long as possible, hoping that within the framework of this tension they will more effectively promote their geostrategic interests.

Russia is guided by the agreements that were reached in a trilateral format at the level of our leaders in 2020-2022 with the consent of Yerevan and Baku. We are participating in this work to the extent that our participation is in demand by Yerevan and Baku. No more, no less.

Question: At the news conference on the results of 2024, you called relations with Armenia difficult. But three years ago, the situation was completely different. What is the reason for the fact that these relations have become more complicated and under what conditions, in your opinion, it would be possible to return the dialogue with Yerevan to the status of three years ago?

Sergey Lavrov: I do not know of a single country with which I would call relations simple. Imagine: we have simple relations with country X. There is no such thing. In any relationship, there are issues that need to be resolved. The closer countries and peoples are, the richer their interaction is in all spheres – political, security, economic, humanitarian and cultural. And the richer the relations, the more events are held, the more practical issues arise.

In addition, there are also political issues that have been deliberately exacerbated in our relations by some circles. President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about this during their meetings over the past few months. There were two meetings (1.2) and a telephone conversation.

Today, Ararat Mirzoyan and I agreed that in the future we will also (as we did at previous meetings) frankly and honestly talk to each other about the concerns that arise in Armenia towards Russia and our country towards Armenia. We will try to take measures to ensure that the media space is not used by ill-wishers of our countries in the interests of turning normal working relations into some kind of "difficult" ones.

I will say again that we have a full understanding of the need for an open and honest dialogue. Our leaders are setting an example for us. I am convinced that this is the right way. I think my colleague and comrade Ararat Mirzoyan agrees with this.

Question: How would you comment on US President Donald Trump's first statements in the field of foreign policy, from the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organisation, as well as the intention to impose duties on the BRICS countries and the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico? Marco Rubio was recently appointed US Secretary of State. Can we expect a resumption of contacts between Moscow and Washington?

Sergey Lavrov: I can comment on the decisions announced by President Donald Trump. Many political scientists are engaged in this. In short, I will say that this is an obvious indication of the methods by which President Donald Trump and his administration intend to promote the interests of the United States on the world stage.

The interest of the United States has never changed, regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans are in the White House. It is to always be stronger than any competitor. The previous administration was guided by the same task. President Donald Trump has shown what methods he wants to use to achieve this goal.

We respect the choice of the American people. As far as I understand, the US leadership under President Donald Trump has also repeatedly given reason to say that they also respect the choice of the Russian people.

As for contacts. President Vladimir Putin, answering this question, answered in the affirmative. Subsequently, President Donald Trump said that he intended to get in touch with the President of the Russian Federation in the near future. The answer has been known for a long time. [My Emphasis]

The Outlaw US Empire pursues the same policy goals regardless the “political gender” of the president, which is plainly obvious when looking at the historical context. IMO, the UK is the main disrupter of Armenian-Russian relations and the EU also has its own role, both of which are similar to their duties in Moldova. Azerbaijan’s president Aliyev has objected to these incursions as he sees them disrupting the settlement process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The settlement needs to be worked out and allowed to become the norm, which it must be admitted will take years if not several generations. The big indicator for the direction Armenia will take is economic as its growth and development has taken off over the last several years demonstrating its interests lie to the North, South and East, not the West, and certainly not the dying totalitarian EU. It’s no secret that Russia and China are Eurasia’s main economic engines and both are humming, which means all the associated national economies ought to also hum, and that’s what we’re seeing as the numbers for 2024 appear. I don’t expect the UK/EU to cease their efforts to pry Armenia away from the Russia/EAEU orbit, although they have nothing positive to offer. Lavrov’s words hint at the reduced interactions in relations during 2024 since he’s clearly motivated to perform better in 2025. However, the legislative interactions and other bilateral events that occurred in 2024 seem to have been good substitutes. As the questions showed, how relations are perceived via the media lens are important and Russia needs to be better attuned to that reality.

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