Armenia Steps Away from Moscow
Pashinyan did not hold back. Speaking at a government briefing, he confirmed that Armenia had sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and repeated that Kyiv has his country's moral support, not Russia's. He also confirmed he would skip Russia's May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow — a decision that spoke volumes on its own.

Russia's response was swift and sharp. The Kremlin summoned Armenia's ambassador and the Russian Foreign Ministry blasted Armenia for hosting Zelenskyy, calling it "absolutely inadmissible." Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova went as far as calling Zelenskyy a "terrorist" and asked Armenia directly, "Whose side of history are you on?" The anger stemmed partly from Zelenskyy's comments at the summit, where he hinted that Ukrainian strikes on Moscow during Victory Day were not off the table — remarks that have rattled the Kremlin ahead of its already scaled-back celebrations.

A Country Changing Course
This shift did not happen overnight. Pashinyan has long been skeptical of Moscow's influence. Back in 2013, he opposed Armenia joining the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. In 2023, he openly called Armenia's dependence on Russia for security a "strategic mistake." By 2024, Armenia had effectively frozen its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Russia-led defense bloc, and began a formal process toward eventual European Union membership.

The EPC summit in Yerevan carried strong symbolic weight. It was the first time this forum — created in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — had ever met in the South Caucasus, and it took place just 40 kilometers from Russia's own military base in Gyumri. The EU has responded to Armenia's westward push by offering billions of euros in investment, border support, and cybersecurity cooperation, though formal defense guarantees and a full alternative to cheap Russian gas remain off the table for now. Russia currently supplies Armenia with gas at around $177.50 per thousand cubic meters, well below European market rates — a dependency that makes Yerevan's pivot all the more complicated.

Zelenskyy called his talks with Pashinyan "good" and said both leaders were exploring the possibility of a meeting in Kyiv later this year, describing it as the resumption of "active dialogue" between the two nations.