Armenia goes to polls in pivotal vote to decide South Caucasus future
AI Summary
Armenia held parliamentary elections Sunday as voters decided the country's geopolitical future, with incumbent PM Nikol Pashinyan seeking closer ties to the European Union and United States while Russia deployed economic coercion—including boycotts of agricultural exports and threats to energy supplies—to preserve its influence over the former Soviet republic. Pashinyan appeared positioned to win despite Russian pressure tactics, with the vote also addressing peace negotiations toward longtime rival Azerbaijan. The election crystallized a broader East-West competition for influence in the South Caucasus.
Armenians will decide their future on Sunday against the backdrop of a Russia-West clash, as both the EU and the US support PM Pashinyan’s cautious pro-Western drive, while Russia embarked on an onslaught of economic and political pressures on Yerevan to keep the former Soviet state in its orbit. ...