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Russia recalled its ambassador to Armenia, Sergei Kopyrkin, back to Moscow for consultations on Saturday to protest the nation’s growing ties with the European Union.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement confirming the move just ahead of Armenia’s upcoming June 7 election.
Although the Caucasus nation of three million people remains formally allied with Russia and heavily dependent on its economy, Yerevan has consistently deepened its relationship with the West in recent years.
Pressure on the country escalated on Friday when a Russian-led economic union of former Soviet republics threatened to suspend Armenia for seeking EU membership.
The bloc demanded that Yerevan hold a public referendum on the issue.
Current opinion polls for the June election show pro-Western Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party leading the pro-Russian opposition.
Pashinyan, who swept to power during a 2018 revolution and won re-election in 2021, recently secured an endorsement from US President Donald Trump.
The diplomatic rift stems from Armenia’s stance that Russia failed to protect it during military clashes with neighbouring Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan completely retook the long-disputed breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, forcing its ethnic Armenian population to flee.
Russia counters that Western countries are meddling in Armenian politics purely to weaken Russian influence across the former Soviet Union. Armenia has not yet issued an official response regarding the recall of the Russian envoy.
