Armenia is drawing lessons from the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh. The inaction of the Russian peacekeeping troops deployed in the former separatist enclave when Azerbaijan attacked on September 19 confirmed what Yerevan has been condemning more and more openly for months: Russia is no longer a reliable partner. Distrust of Moscow has never been greater.

No longer able to rely on its historical ally, now considered a "traitor," or even a new enemy, Armenia is looking for new ways to cooperate in an attempt to ensure its security. This is all the more necessary as this small, landlocked Caucasus country is under threat of a new attack from Baku, which is determined to obtain the Zangezur Corridor, which is supposed to link Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan.

This diversification of alliances is at the heart of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's new strategy. "We made the mistake of putting all our eggs in one basket," observed an official speaking on condition of anonymity. "If we have five or six friends from whom we can buy weapons and several economic partners, that will enable us not to depend on just one, in case they wish to punish us." Yerevan has no intention of breaking completely with Russia but wants to reduce its extreme dependence. "Russia remains our partner, despite its unfriendly attitude," noted the same source.

Armenia, which has signed a bilateral defense agreement with Moscow, is criticizing in particular a "problem linked to the delivery of arms and equipment that have already been paid for," in this case a contract worth over $250 million that has never been honored.

Armenia is also a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-dominated regional military organization, which has proved particularly ineffective over the last three years. As a result, Pashinyan now refuses to attend alliance summits, such as the one held on November 22 and 23 in Minsk, Belarus. According to our information, Armenia has not yet formally withdrawn from the CSTO at the request of the United States, which believes that Yerevan is not yet ready and must first find other sources of support.

However, the country's membership in this Moscow-led alliance is no longer seen as an obstacle to deepening relations with other partners, including the European Union (EU). As a sign of this strategic reorientation, the majority of foreign trips by senior Armenian representatives now take place in Western countries, rather than within the post-Soviet space.

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