The Kremlin has threatened Armenia with “negative consequences” after the EU pledged €270 million (£232 million) to help it loosen ties with Russia.

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian prime minister, visited Brussels on Friday, meeting with Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, and Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, in a display of the country’s diplomatic shift towards the West.

“We will make investments to strengthen Armenia’s economy and society, making them more robust and stable in the face of shocks,” said Ms von der Leyen, pledging the money to “build resilience” among Armenian businesses and society.

After the meeting, the Kremlin accused the West of looking for a “geopolitical confrontation” in the South Caucasus.

Russia’s foreign ministry said that attempts by the US and the EU to woo Yerevan over the past 18 months were “irresponsible and destructive”.

“(This will) result in the most negative consequences for stability, security and economic development in the region, provoke the emergence of new dividing lines, as well as an uncontrollable increase in tension,” it said.

Azerbaijan accused Armenia of deploying forces along their volatile border after Mr Pashinyan’s Brussels meeting, which Yerevan denied.

“Is Armenia following the path of Ukraine or is Armenia being pushed along the path of Ukraine?” said Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin speechwriter.

Armenia’s relations with Russia have soured since it accused the Kremlin of reneging on pledges to protect it and instead greenlighting an attack last year by Azerbaijan on disputed territory controlled by ethnic Armenians.

The Azerbaijani attack on Nagorno-Karabakh forced Armenia to cede control of the disputed region. Around 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled to Armenia.

Since then, Mr Pashinyan has intensified talks with the West, signed arms deals with France and mounted a diplomatic push that included upgrading its embassy in London from a rented two-room office near Earls Court to a Pall Mall townhouse.

This year, Armenian officials have even said they want to quit the Kremlin’s Collective Security Treaty Organization – a military alliance between Russia and several post-Soviet states – and join the EU.