Armenia’s Pashinyan Skips Russia-Led Summit After Putin Urges EU-or-EAEU Choice

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will miss the upcoming Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit in late May, days after Moscow told Armenia to choose between the EU and the Moscow-led bloc amid disputes between Moscow and Yerevan. Make us preferred on Google Flip Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) speaks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Pavel Bednyakov / POOL / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will skip the upcoming Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit in Kazakhstan later this month, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Armenia should decide between closer integration with the EU and membership in the Moscow-led bloc. The EAEU is a Russia-led economic bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . The EAEU summit is scheduled for May 28-29 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Pashinyan said Armenia will instead be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. “I informed President Putin about this during my visit to Russia in April. I also informed [Kazakh] President [Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev about my decision,” Pashinyan said Monday, according to The Moscow Times. The Armenian leader said he would not attend due to campaigning ahead of parliamentary elections on June 7 and a military parade scheduled for May 28. The announcement comes shortly after Pashinyan also skipped Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow. Following the event, Putin publicly said that Armenia should hold a referendum on potential EU membership and on withdrawing from the EAEU. Only in that case, Putin said, could Moscow and Yerevan move toward a “soft, intelligent and mutually beneficial divorce,” while referencing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine following Kyiv’s push for closer ties with the EU and NATO. Other Topics of Interest North Korea Made Billions Arming Russia for the Ukraine War, Report Says South Korean estimates suggest North Korea earned between $7 billion and $13.8 billion by supplying Russia with artillery shells, rocket systems, KN-23 ballistic missiles and military personnel. Analysts say the growing partnership with Moscow is boosting Pyongyang’s economy while expanding its military and technological capabilities. Pashinyan rejected the characterization of relations with Moscow as a “divorce” and said Armenia currently has no plans to hold a referendum on leaving the EAEU. “We respect all our partners in the EAEU, as well as our participation in the union,” he said – though Pashinyan had clashed off-script with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko during an EAEU summit in 2024. “We are confusing interstate relations with marriage,” Pashinyan added. “Armenia is a full-fledged member of the EAEU. And as long as we are members of the EAEU, we fully participate in all decision-making.” The Armenian prime minister also said Yerevan had no intention of harming Russian interests and said his relationship with Putin is based on mutual trust. At the same time, Pashinyan confirmed that Armenia would continue to deepen relations with the EU and pursue democratic reforms. “What is happening in relations with Moscow is an inevitable transformation,” he said, adding that Armenia’s foreign policy would continue to be guided by “the state interests of Armenia.” Cracks in Yerevan-Moscow relations began forming after Russian peacekeepers failed to deter Azerbaijan from capturing Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave in the Caucasus previously controlled by Yerevan, in late 2023. Later the same year, Armenia ratified the Rome Statute and a few months later officially joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) – a body that has issued an active arrest warrant for Putin. Since February 2024, Armenia has frozen its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) following Russia’s failure to provide military assistance during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On May 7, 2026, Pashinyan explicitly stated that Armenia is “ not an ally of Russia on the issue of Ukraine ” and has continued to send humanitarian aid to Kyiv, days after hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, a move described as “ incomprehensible ” by Moscow’s foreign ministry spokesperson. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.