Armenia, a Soviet republic bordering Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, has long relied on Russia as a key ally. Russia currently has a military base in Gyumri, about 90 kilometers northwest of Armenia's capital.
Relations between Russia and Armenia have deteriorated in recent years. Prime Minister Pashinyan said Russia had let Armenia down after failing to stop Azerbaijan from launching a blitzkrieg last year to seize control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, forcing ethnic Armenians living there to flee.
Russia countered that Prime Minister Pashinyan's failure to manage complex rivalries in the South Caucasus was behind the downfall of ethnic Armenian armed groups in Karabakh, and warned that the West was trying to drive a wedge between Yerevan and Moscow.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan accused France of sowing the seeds of a new conflict by supplying arms to Armenia.
Prime Minister Pashinyan last month discussed cooperation with Javier Colomina, the NATO Secretary General's special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Location of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Graphic: France 24
Vu Hoang (According to AFP )
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