Russia wants to open a consulate in Armenia
Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, stated that Moscow is awaiting a response from Yerevan regarding the issue of opening a consulate in Kapan. She made this statement during a weekly press briefing on November 27.
Zakharova also added that, “in the interest of the friendly country and the overall security of the region, we expect that our partnership with Armenia within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be fully restored.”
Since the 2020 war, the political relations between Armenia and Russia, as well as between Armenia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), have changed. Relations particularly worsened when Russian peacekeeping forces were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and just one month later, Azerbaijani armed forces captured the villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd, which were under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission.
On March 24, 2022, Azerbaijani forces captured the village of Parukh and the nearby Karaglukh peak, which were also located in the area under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission.
On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military aggression across the entire area under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission, resulting in the deaths of over 200 Armenians from Artsakh, including peaceful civilians, the elderly, and children. Throughout this military aggression, which aimed at ethnic cleansing, the Russian peacekeepers took no preventive action. As a result, the majority of the population of Artsakh, over 100,000 ethnic Armenians, was forced to flee the region.
Relations worsened further when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during the Second Global Armenian Summit, stated that the CSTO was creating threats to Armenia’s security, its future existence, sovereignty, and statehood.
Despite the political tension and strained relations, Armenian-Russian economic ties have reached historic levels, with trade turnover reaching
9 billion 760 million dollars
From an economic perspective, it is worth noting that Russia is the main supplier of wheat to Armenia. According to Armenia’s customs service, in 2023, 343,600 tons of wheat were imported, 99% of which came from Russia.