Pashinyan's Claims Are Absolute Lies: No Domestic Political Issues Discussed at Putin-Pashinyan Meeting, Mediaport

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has deceived his colleagues by claiming that President Vladimir Putin told him during their one-on-one meeting that he is against the holding of snap elections in Armenia, and that if elections do take place, Putin would supposedly support Pashinyan. This information comes from the Mediaport Telegram channel.

After returning from Moscow, Pashinyan gathered members of the 'My Step' alliance and announced that during a private conversation with Putin on January 11 in Moscow, Putin told him that he sees no necessity for snap elections in Armenia, and if elections were to happen, according to Pashinyan, Putin said he would publicly endorse Pashinyan's candidacy.

However, sources from the Russian Foreign Ministry cited by Mediaport assert that what Pashinyan has disseminated is a complete fabrication, aimed at halting personnel turnover within his own team. Furthermore, the meeting between Putin and Pashinyan did not address any domestic political issues. Pashinyan attempted to broach the subject, lamenting the support provided to the Armenian opposition by certain circles in Russia, but Putin firmly shut down the discussion, stating that he does not intend to intervene in Armenia's internal political processes.