Armenia walks ‘fine line’ with Moscow, parliamentary speaker says

Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan said on Sunday that Yerevan is pursuing a cautious policy toward Moscow, acknowledging that in the event of possible Russian military aggression, Armenia cannot expect more than political statements from the international community. He made the remarks in an interview with exiled Russian outlet TV Rain.

“We keep talking about the war in Ukraine, but let’s imagine this scenario: suppose a country, let’s not call it Russia, let’s call it country X, attacks Armenia. How would the world react? What would other countries do? Nothing, they will just make statements. We understand that, and that’s why we are trying to walk a fine line,” Simonyan said.

His comments come after Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent Russian state television host, said on his program last month that Russia should use military force in Armenia and other countries within what he described as Moscow’s “sphere of interests” as they drift away from its influence.

“The time for games is over. To hell with international law and the global order,” Solovyov said.

The remarks prompted Armenia to summon the Russian ambassador and lodge a note of protest, as it has done in response to previous inflammatory anti-Armenian statements aired on Russian state television. Earlier this month, Simonyan raised the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Russia.

“We are concerned by rhetoric that we frequently hear in the public space. This concerns not only us as officials, but Armenian society as a whole. It is very painful to hear such statements,” Simonyan said at the time, without referring to specific comments.

At the same time, Simonyan said Armenia is not currently seeking the withdrawal of Russian forces stationed in the country, including Russia's military base in Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, and its air force at an air base near Yerevan.

“At this stage, we do not consider it feasible to raise that issue. If we ever do, we will discuss it with [them],” he told TV Rain.

He noted that Armenia had earlier requested the withdrawal of Russian border guards from Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport, where they had been stationed for decades, as well as from their outposts along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Moscow complied with the request in 2024 without any pushback.

Russia’s military presence in Gyumri dates back to the 19th century. The base is located near the Black Fortress, built in 1828 after the Russian Empire took control of Eastern Armenia following its war with Persia.