Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said Yerevan does not rule out taking its dispute with Russia over the management of the South Caucasus Railway to an international court if the issue cannot be resolved through negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that the Armenian authorities hope to settle the matter through talks.
The US should give Armenia the opportunity to take the bold steps that Prime Minister Pashinyan is leading them to take, which is a break in relations with the Russian Federation. The majority of the Armenian population wants to move away from Russia, so the US is creating conditions for this to happen. This was stated by US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien at a hearing in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
According to him, the April 5 meeting in the US-EU-Armenia format created a new platform to help Yerevan reduce its dependence on the Russian Federation. Armenia's energy and economy are almost entirely dependent on Moscow, so it needs to be diversified.
Earlier, the Armenian authorities announced the suspension of their membership in the pro-Russian CSTO bloc, as well as the country's desire to become a candidate for EU membership. In addition, Armenia is conducting military exercises jointly with the US and has increased its purchases of weapons and military equipment from Europe and India.