DISINFO: The West wants to tear Armenia away from Russia
SUMMARY
The West grabbed Armenia with a beastly grip in order to tear it away from Russia.
Moscow views the latest steps of the Armenian leadership as links in one chain of enslavement: the refusal of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to participate in the upcoming CSTO session in Minsk, the expansion of supplies of Western weapons to the republic, and the sudden friendship of Yerevan with the Kyiv regime.
It is not Armenia that is showing a desire to make a U-turn; this is being imposed on it through political instruments and people who defend interests that are alien to the Armenian people.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the belligerent West trying to encircle Russia, carrying out deliberately anti-Russian policies and aggressive Russophobia., and Armenia being a puppet state of the West. The article advances the claim that Armenia, and the entire Caucasus is exclusively within Russia's zone of geopolitical dominance and attempts to pre-empt Russia's weakening position in the region.
Several other events, like the ratification of the Rome statute by Armenia, joint US-Armenia military exercises, the deployment of the EU mission in Armenia, information about the Western military deliveries to Armenia, Armenia’s First Lady visit to Ukraine for a Humanitarian Meeting, PM Nikol Pashinian's refusal to participate in a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) provoked a huge anti-Armenian campaign in pro-Kremlin media, accusing Armenia of unfriendly moves, flirting with Western countries and changing its geopolitical orientation.
Armenia has been a sovereign and independent state since 1991 when it proclaimed its independence from the former USSR. As a sovereign state, Armenia is free to decide its own foreign policy and alliances.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan snubbed the CSTO summit in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, citing his government’s dissatisfaction with the organisation. The breaking point was the Azerbaijani army's incursions into Armenian territory in September 2022. Russia, and the Russian-led CSTO, which both have treaty obligations to protect Armenia from attack, rebuffed Yerevan's call for military assistance and instead took only the mildest of diplomatic steps in reaction. Also, Russia had not yet delivered weapons to Armenia, which had paid for.
While Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says his country has no intention of leaving the CSTO and changing its foreign policy orientation, Armenia has reduced its participation in the Russian-led bloc to a bare minimum.
See other similar cases in our database: Pashinyan is a Western tool to squeeze Russia out of the South Caucasus; Armenia is an instrument in the Western plan to oust Russia from the Caucasus; CIA and MI6 changed power in Armenia in order to oust Russia from the region, Brussels wants to squeeze Russia out of the Caucasus, Armenia is under Anglo-American occupation; West wants to transform Armenia in a "new Ukraine" or an "anti-Russia."