After the defeat in the conflict with Azerbaijan over the Caucasian republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has spoken out in favor of closer military cooperation with Russia. According to his press office, Pashinyan said at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Yerevan today that he hopes his country can strengthen cooperation in the fields of security, the military and technology.
The situation in his country is currently „very difficult“, said Pashinyan. After six weeks of heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an armistice on November 9th under Russian mediation, which means large territorial losses for Armenia.
Armistice outrage
Pashinyan has been under great pressure since the ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan. The agreement had caused great outrage in the country. In numerous demonstrations, Pashinyan was insulted as a „traitor“. However, the head of government refuses to resign.
Nagorno-Karabakh had unilaterally declared its independence during the collapse of the Soviet Union. This was followed by a war with 30,000 deaths in the 1990s. The self-proclaimed republic is still not recognized internationally and is considered part of Azerbaijan under international law. Most of it is inhabited by Armenians. The fighting had flared up again at the end of September.
