Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky plans to visit Armenia next week amid rising tensions with Russia.
A source in diplomatic circles told the Armenian Service of Radio Liberty about this.
The visit will most likely take place on March 4, the source said, adding that in this case Zelensky will also go to Azerbaijan.
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At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia refused to confirm or deny this information, saying only that it informs the public about the visits of foreign leaders “in the prescribed manner”.
Chargé d'Affaires of Ukraine in Yerevan Valery Lobach also evasively answered the question about the possibility of such a trip.
— Positive events will happen in Armenia in the spring, — he told reporters on Friday.
Armenia criticizes Russia
The news of Zelensky's possible trip follows Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent visits to Germany and France, during which he stepped up his criticism of Russia. In particular, Pashinyan for the first time condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying that it violated the December 1991 declaration in which the newly independent Soviet republics recognized each other's Soviet-era borders.
Lawmakers representing Pashinyan's ruling Civil Compact party dropped further hints Monday that the Ukrainian president, who has not visited any former Soviet state except the Baltic states since the start of the war with Russia, should come to Yerevan.
— After all, the President of Ukraine is the elected leader of his country and, like heads of other states, can visit Armenia if no special obstacles arise, — said one of them, Babken Tunyan.
Another pro-government MP, Gagik Melkonyan, said that they “do not care how Russia reacts or does not react&# 8221; for Zelensky's visit.
Russia has not yet responded
There has been no reaction from Moscow yet. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 19 that Russia and Armenia currently have “diametrically opposed views” to the war in Ukraine.
In recent months, relations between the two longtime allies have deteriorated further, with the Russian Foreign Ministry accusing Pashinyan of “destroying”.
Dmitry Suslov, a senior analyst at the Kremlin-linked Russian Foreign and Defense Policy Council, said on Monday that Zelensky's visit to Armenia could mark a “point of no return” in the erosion of bilateral ties. Suslov said this would be part of the West's efforts to reorient Armenia towards the United States and the European Union.
Armenian opposition leaders have expressed grave concern about far-reaching changes to Armenia's traditional foreign policy, saying it is reckless in the absence of security guarantees or military assistance from Western powers.
It is noteworthy that Pashinyan began an apparent rapprochement with Ukraine last year, despite Kiev’s strong support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
