Meanwhile, the speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, Valentina Matvienko, stepped up Moscow’s threats to discourage Russian tourists from visiting the South Caucasus country, in an apparently tense phone call with her newly elected Armenian counterpart, Ruben Rubinian.
Rubinian phoned Matvienko despite not being congratulated by her on becoming the speaker of the National Assembly on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has likewise declined to congratulate Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on his party’s victory in the June 7 parliamentary elections not recognized by the Armenian opposition.
According to a Russian readout of the call, Matvienko criticized Yerevan’s efforts to join the European Union, saying that they run counter to Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Russian-trade bloc. She echoed Putin’s calls for an Armenian referendum on EU membership.
Rubinian was cited by his press office as repeating the official Armenian line that the referendum cannot be held before Yerevan makes a formal membership bid. He also expressed concern Moscow’s “unfounded” bans on imports of Armenian agricultural products imposed in late May and early June.
Matvienko also deplored “systematic detentions of Russian citizens in Armenia” on arrest warrants issued by “third countries.”
“If this practice continues, Russia will have to recommend its tourists not to visit the country,” she was reported to warn.
Alexei Shevtsov, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said in April that Russian tourists bring Armenia’s services sector $1 billion in annual revenue. A possible loss of that revenue “would deal a severe blow to the country’s economy,” he said.
Pashinian said last week that Moscow imposed the trade restrictions because his administration is seeking political and economic “alternatives” to Armenia’s traditional alliance with Russia. He indicated that Yerevan will not change its European integration policy despite the embargo. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexei Fadeyev, scoffed at those comments on Thursday.
“This is an outright deception of not only Eurasian integration partners but also the own population,” Fadeyev told a news briefing. “It’s no accident that socioeconomic consequences of such a ‘leap’ to Europe are being concealed from Armenian citizens.”
“In the context of Russian-Armenian relations, instead of constructive dialogue, we are witnessing Yerevan’s attempts to up the ante or simply resort to blackmail,” he charged. “This policy includes the persecution of pro-Russian figures and threats of arbitration proceedings against Russian companies operating in Armenia.”
Passhinian pledged on July 30 to end the Russian Railways (RZhD) monopoly’s management of Armenia’s railway network. The Armenian government may take RZhD to international court for that purpose, he said. The RZhD chairman, Oleg Belozerov, responded by saying that the government would have to compensate his company for about $400 million in investments it claims to have made in the network since 2009.
