Armenian PM avoids another summit with Putin

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that he will not participate in the informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) near St Petersburg, Russia, on 25 December.

Pashinyan announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 on 23 December, which is why he worked from home on 24-25 December.

On 25 December, Pashinyan tested negative, but "after consulting with his colleagues, he decided that he would not participate in the informal summit of CIS leaders". 

"By the end of the day, I will decide whether or not to participate in tomorrow's [26 December – ed.] meeting of the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) Supreme Economic Council," he added.

In recent years, Armenia has been trying to avoid or limit its participation in integration formats that are effectively under Russian control.

Last year, Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the CIS summit in Kyrgyzstan "due to a number of circumstances", and in October this year, Armenia did not support two statements at the meeting of CIS foreign ministers.

The Armenian side has also declared a "point of no return" in relations with the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a de facto military and political alliance led by Russia.