Pashinyan sidesteps questions regarding cancellation of proposed  meeting with Putin

ArmInfo.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan avoided providing a direct answer regarding whose initiative led to the cancellation of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin—a meeting Pashinyan himself had publicly  announced earlier in June.

"The meeting was not planned. And the phrase 'a meeting will take  place in a short time' in the context of a meeting at the level of  state leaders does not imply one within a day or a week. That is,  there will be a meeting in the near future," the Armenian prime  minister said in response to the question of whose initiative it was  that the meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Russia was  cancelled, given that Pashinyan himself had announced a meeting with  Vladimir Putin for the second half of June.

"The meeting was never formally scheduled. When discussing a meeting  at the level of heads of state, the phrase 'in the near future' does  not imply a timeframe of a day or a week. A meeting will take place  eventually," the Prime Minister stated when pressed on why the summit  did not occur during the second half of June as he had previously  suggested. When a journalist reminded him that he had announced a  post- election meeting with Putin during the parliamentary campaign,  Pashinyan insisted the contexts were different, adding, "We were  discussing a different topic, and I remain confident that a meeting  will take place soon."

When asked whether a meeting could be expected in August on the  sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union Intergovernmental Council  meeting, Pashinyan stated that this meeting would be at the level of  prime ministers of the EAEU countries.

When asked whether he would discuss "sanctions with the Russian prime  minister, Pashinyan stated that the term "sanctions" was incorrect in  this case. "There is another topic at hand, and we will naturally  discuss it," the head of the Armenian cabinet said. However, he  stopped short of providing a direct assessment of the impact that  recent Russian trade restrictions have had on the Armenian market.

A temporary ban on the import of stone fruits and grapes from Armenia  will take effect in Russia on June 2. The restrictions apply to  cherries, sweet cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, and  fresh grapes, allegedly due to "increased supply violations." This  isn't the first restrictive measure Russia has imposed on Armenian  exports in recent weeks. Previously, Rosselkhoznadzor banned the  import of fish and fish products from Armenia, making an exception  for only two enterprises that had passed Russian inspection.  Russia  also restricted the import of Armenian flowers, mineral water,  cognac, wine, vegetables, and strawberries. Armenian authorities and  observers attribute Moscow's actions not only to sanitary concerns  but also to the sharp deterioration in relations amid the Armenian  Prime Minister's policy of rapprochement with the EU and the US.