Russia Risks Losing an Ally to Ukraine

Tensions between Russia and a key ally continue to fray following this week's meeting of Armenia's top diplomat and his counterpart from Ukraine.

Once rock-solid relations between Russia and Armenia, both formerly part of the Soviet Union, have been on increasingly unsteady grounds since Azerbaijan seized full military control over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in September.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared his nation's security alliance with Moscow to be "inadequate" following Azerbaijan's victory, with Vladimir Putin's government having failed to assist his country amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

On Monday, Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels, Belgium, where they purportedly discussed the "advancement" of their relationship.

"My Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan and I met to discuss the advancement of Ukraine-Armenia dialogue for the benefit of our peoples," Kuleba said in a statement accompanied by a photo of the diplomats smiling while standing next to each other.

"Ukraine stands for peace in the South Caucasus, based on respect for the UN Charter and international law, as well as the development of regional trade and cultural projects spanning the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea," he added.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Wednesday.

Mirzoyan and Kuleba were in Brussels to attend a European Union (EU) Eastern Partnership Ministerial meeting, where leaders discussed efforts for Ukraine and neighbor Moldova to join the EU, something that Putin's government has strongly opposed.

During the meeting, Mirzoyan said that his government "warmly welcomes the European Commission's decision to recommend the European Council to open accession talks with Moldova and Ukraine."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last month that Moldova was "destined to be the next victim in the hybrid war against Russia unleashed by the West" if it joins the European alliance.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said last year that there was no "big difference" between Ukraine joining the EU and joining NATO, a move that some have suggested could spark the beginning of a new world war.

After Azerbaijan took Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan lamented that Armenia's alliance with Russia was "ineffective when it comes to the protection of our security and Armenia's national interests."

Russia's Foreign Ministry responded with a statement accusing Pashinyan of attempting to explain away his "failures in domestic and foreign policy by shifting the blame to Moscow."

"We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a massive mistake by deliberately trying to destroy Armenia's multi-faceted and centuries-old ties with Russia while making the country hostage to the geopolitical games of the West," the statement said.

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