Kremlin says no agreement yet on Putin-Pashinyan meeting

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that no agreement has yet been reached on a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who retained power in last week's parliamentary elections.

In remarks to journalists at a press briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there currently are “no firm agreements” yet on the matter, noting that official results from Armenia’s parliamentary vote held over the weekend have yet to be made public.

“You know that many voters are planning to contest the results, there will be a recount, and so on. So, it's quite a long and complicated process,” Zakharova said.

About 1.47 million out of approximately 2.5 million Armenians cast their ballots at 2,005 polling stations nationwide in Armenia's parliamentary election last Sunday, amounting to a turnout of nearly 59%.

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party secured 49.82% of the vote, according to preliminary results shared by Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), while its closest competitor, the Strong Armenia party, led by billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, received 23.28%.

In an initial statement earlier this week on the election, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that the parliamentary vote was held amid Western interference and "unprecedented pressure” on the country’s opposition.

CEC Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan said earlier Wednesday that the electoral body will publish the final results of the parliamentary elections on Sunday, noting recounts are being carried out at a number of polling stations, according to state news agency Armenpress.