Armenia voted Sunday in a parliamentary election set to test Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s tilt to the West, as the country faces threats and allegations of interference from former imperial ruler Russia.
Armenia and Russia are technically allies, but Moscow has compared the former Soviet republic’s EU ambitions to the same path it claims triggered its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The election comes after years of upheaval since Pashinyan was propelled to power in a 2018 street revolution.
The small Caucasus country is still reeling from long-time foe Azerbaijan’s military takeover of the Karabakh region.
The conflict came to an end in 2023, when the Azerbaijan army seized control of the enclave, and most of the Armenian population fled.
Pashinyan has framed the vote as a choice between a lasting peace with Azerbaijan or a return to war.
The 51-year-old has also sought to loosen Armenia’s dependence on Moscow, after
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