Russian prime minister hosts Pashinyan in first meeting since election

By Nicholas Castillo

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a visit to Russia’s Yekaterinburg on Monday amid increasingly contentious relations between Moscow and Yerevan.

The trip was the first by the prime minister since his Civil Contract party’s victory in the parliamentary elections last month over several pro-Russian opposition parties. A month on from the vote, Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to publicly congratulate Pashinyan. 

In Yekaterinburg, Pashinyan took part in the “Industry 360: Production Without Borders” plenary session of the Innoprom-2026 economic conference, where he delivered a short speech on Armenia’s economic progress in recent years. In the speech, Pashinyan commented positively on Yerevan’s involvement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) without touching upon ongoing trade tensions between Armenia and Russia.

Officials from several other members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) also attended. 

Pashinyan also met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the highest-ranking Russian official taking part in the conference. 

In contrast to past statements from Russian officials, including Foreign Minister spokesperson Maria Zakharova, decrying Pashinyan’s reelection, Mishustin struck a positive note on Russia-Armenia relations and noted the Civil Contract party’s recent victory without voicing either criticism or congratulation.

“We hope that the new government, which will be formed based on the results of the elections, will ensure the development of our relations,” Mishustin said.

During the meeting, Pashinyan appeared to allude to ongoing trade conflicts with Russia, referring to recent “problematic issues” he hoped will be discussed and resolved. 

The visit came amid increasingly difficult economic relations between Russia and Armenia. Recent months have seen the Kremlin bar a wide array of Armenian agricultural products in response to growing ties between Yerevan and the European Union, sparking fears of a potential economic crisis for Armenia’s sizable agricultural sector.

Russia, alongside other EEU member states, have also begun pushing for Armenia to hold a referendum choosing between its EEU membership or a potential European Union membership bid. Pashinyan has since then rejected the calls, saying a referendum would not make sense before Yerevan formally applies for candidate status.

Last week, Armenia hosted Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, who announced a new series of economic measures designed to provide economic assistance to Armenian farmers to offset Russian sanctions.