Russia warns Armenia it could end cheap fuel supplies if Yerevan stays on EU course

By Andrew Osborn and Lucy Papachristou

MOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday it had warned Armenia it would suspend or terminate the supply of cheap oil, gas and rough diamonds to the South Caucasus country if Yerevan pressed ahead with its bid to join the European Union.

Moscow issued the warning ahead of a parliamentary election on June 7 with opinion polls giving the Civil Contract party of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan – who has forged a warmer relationship with the West to Moscow’s irritation – a comfortable lead over pro-Russian rivals.

“The Russian Embassy has officially forwarded a letter…stating that if the process of accession to the EU continues, the Russian side will suspend or unilaterally terminate the Agreement on Cooperation in the Supply of Natural Gas, Petroleum Products and Rough Diamonds,” Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told the RIA news agency.

Armenia, a landlocked nation of around 3 million, has traditionally had close ties to Russia and is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

It hosts Russian military bases and is heavily dependent on Moscow for energy, with 82% of its gas last year coming from Russia, according to the Interfax news agency. 

Pashinyan told an election rally that Armenia had no intention of leaving the Eurasian Union and that membership of the body was compatible with the country’s bid to join the EU.

“For now, Armenia can be a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and proceed with reforms to achieve European standards. We are on this path,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying.

“When the time comes to make a choice, we will make a choice. We must have an alternative so that no one can say of Armenia — who needs it, where is it heading?”

Ties with Moscow have grown increasingly rancorous since Azerbaijan retook its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, prompting a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.

Pashinyan, who accused Russia at the time of failing to protect his country, has since sought to deepen ties with Brussels and Washington and has suspended Armenia’s participation in a Russian-led regional defence bloc.

RUBIO VISITS YEREVAN

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Yerevan on Tuesday and signed a strategic partnership agreement in a sign of warming ties, and Armenia last year adopted a law launching its EU accession process.

Moscow, which argues that membership of the EU would be incompatible with Armenia’s membership of the Eurasian Economic Union, this month accused Armenia of being drawn into what it described as the EU’s “anti‑Russian orbit” and of providing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with “a platform for anti-Russian remarks.”

The cooperation agreement which Russia is saying it may end allows Armenia to buy oil, gas and rough diamonds free of export duties and on vastly preferential terms.

Moscow said its letter of warning was sent by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev to the Armenian Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Ministry.

Armenia’s tilt to the EU, Tsivilev wrote, was “inconsistent with the nature of the partnership between the governments and economic entities of our countries,” according to a text of the letter published by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.

The Armenian ministry told state media on Wednesday it had received no such letter from Tsivilev.

(Reporting by Reuters Writing by Andrew Osborn/Lucy PapachristouEditing by Keith Weir, Ron Popeski and Sanjeev Miglani)