Putin Has a Plan Against Armenia: Armenians Will View It as an Act of Economic Warfare - Deutsche Welle

The Armenian authorities are announcing their intention to strive for neutrality in foreign policy and to distance themselves from military alliances, reports Deutsche Welle.

Yerevan is showing tendencies to refrain from joining military blocs and to shift its foreign policy orientation towards the West. In this context, the President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonian, stated that Yerevan should not join any military bloc, which effectively signals the possibility of leaving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

This position was formed after Russia's inaction during the conflicts of 2020 and 2023 and Armenia's suspension of its CSTO membership. In the security realm, Yerevan is actively diversifying its connections. Contracts worth over 1 billion euros for armaments have been signed with France and India, while the European Union has allocated 30 million euros for the acquisition of non-lethal equipment.

Although Russia maintains a significant economic and military presence, including the military base in Gyumri and preferential gas prices, Moscow's influence among the Armenian society is diminishing. According to Gallup polls, a majority of the population supports neutrality or integration with the EU.

During the pre-election period, economic levers exerted by Russia, such as restrictions on the import of Armenian products, are assessed by experts as attempts of pressure. Nevertheless, a complete energy blockade is considered unlikely, as it would harm the interests of Russian companies as well.

At the same time, the informational campaigns and disinformation conducted by Moscow have a limited impact on the Armenian audience, as they do not align with local media consumption characteristics.

Another European ambassador stated, “Putin has a plan against Armenia. Any sanctions from Moscow will be viewed by Armenians purely as an act of economic warfare, rather than as a failure. Moscow's positions here are already shaky.”

Ahead of the parliamentary elections, European experts and politicians often discuss the campaign waged by Russia against Nikol Pashinyan on social media. This campaign is compared to the interference seen in last year's presidential elections in Moldova, where the Kremlin campaigned against Maia Sandu, but to no avail.

The EU has allocated resources and experts to Armenia to strengthen 'informational resilience.'