Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk reiterated on Friday that Russia continues to regard Armenia as its strategic ally.
“We consider this issue from this perspective: Armenia is our strategic ally, and if Armenia believes that something is good for them, then, of course, we support Armenia in it,” Overchuk said, as quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a joint declaration, along with the United States acting as a witness, in Washington last week aimed at ending three decades of conflict that included two major wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Among other provisions, the Washington declaration establishes a U.S. role in overseeing a transit route through Armenia, which Azerbaijan has demanded as a link to its Nakhichevan exclave.
The accords have received broad international support, including endorsements from Western and regional leaders. However, Russia, along with another regional powerhouse, Iran, initially expressed misgivings about U.S. involvement in the proposed connectivity project.
Overchuk co-headed a trilateral working group with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts to discuss regional unblocking efforts following the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijan war in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire.
That ceasefire agreement also envisioned a Russian role in overseeing a transit route through Armenia’s Syunik region – a role that, over time, appears to have been effectively rejected by both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Observers note that the Washington deal – dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) – has ultimately undermined Russia’s hopes of reverting to the previous agreements that included the deployment of its border troops along the route.
“If they believe that the signing of a corresponding declaration in Washington provides greater security guarantees, then this is good, because we also support peace processes in the South Caucasus,” Overchuk emphasized, adding that it therefore “entirely and completely” meets the interests of the Russian Federation.
Earlier this week, Aleksey Fadeyev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Moscow needed to examine the details of the proposed transport corridor project in the South Caucasus. He, however, stressed Russia’s position that any connectivity initiative must take into account Armenia’s membership in the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union as well as the presence of Russian border guards in Armenia’s Syunik province.
In his recent public remarks, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has sought to allay the geopolitical concerns of both Russia and Iran. In phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, Pashinian stressed that regional communication channels will operate under the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of countries, and on the basis of reciprocity. He also highlighted opportunities for broader regional cooperation.
Meanwhile, Viktor Vodolatsky, a senior Russian lawmaker, was quoted by TASS on Friday as saying that the “issue of control” over the transport corridor in Armenia may also come up during the August 15 summit of the presidents of the United States and Russia in Alaska.