Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for what he called Moscow's "balanced position" amid the political upheaval that brought him to power in Yerevan, and reassured the Kremlin that the "strategic partnership" between the countries is not in doubt.
In their first meeting since Pashinian was voted in by parliament after leading weeks of antigovenment protests in the small South Caucasus country, Putin wished him success and said he hoped that bilateral ties "will develop just as steadily as they have up to now."
The warm tone of the May 14 meeting on the sidelines of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi was in line with previous comments by Putin and Pashinian, who has repeatedly said that Armenian will not turn its back on Russia -- a far larger and more powerful country that has a military base in the smaller nation.