Rubio: Russia Wants Pashinyan to Lose Armenia’s Election Over Growing U.S. Ties

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia is unhappy with growing American involvement in Armenia, speaking during a congressional hearing on June 2 as Washington continues to deepen ties with Yerevan ahead of Armenia’s parliamentary elections.

“I think Russia is not happy with U.S. involvement in Armenia,” Rubio said during the hearing.

Speaking about American engagement in the South Caucasus, Rubio stated that the United States sees growing opportunities in the region that could benefit both U.S. interests and regional countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“To the benefit of American companies and American interests, but also to the benefit of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and other regional countries. I would also argue, by the way, and just to point out, and I don't mean this again, I think this is pretty well understood in the open source reporting, the Russians are less than happy about our engagement there. I think there's evidence that they would like the current prime minister to lose his election as a result of this growing relationship with the United States. To be clear, we're not there to infringe on Armenian sovereignty. We're not asking them not to be friends with other countries. We just want to be able to have a relationship with them that's built not just on peace. Peace is important, but that's just the beginning. The benefit of American companies.”

Rubio added that the United States wants to further strengthen cooperation with Armenia through expanded political and strategic relations.

The remarks come just days before Armenia’s parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, which are expected to be among the country’s most closely watched elections in recent years. The campaign period officially ends on June 5.

Tensions between Russia and Armenia have continued to grow in recent years as Yerevan has expanded relations with the United States and the European Union following the 2020 Artsakh war and Azerbaijan’s 2023 takeover of Artsakh.

Ahead of the elections, Russian officials have repeatedly made statements regarding Armenia’s geopolitical direction. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that Armenia would eventually need to choose between closer integration with the European Union and remaining within the Eurasian Economic Union led by Russia.

In recent weeks, Russia has also introduced restrictions on several Armenian exports entering the Russian market, including agricultural products and fish, citing alleged quality concerns.

On May 28, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the elections.

“Nikol has my full and unconditional support for his reelection on June 7, 2026,” Trump said.

Two days earlier, on May 26, Rubio visited Yerevan for brief talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. During the visit, Armenia and the United States signed a comprehensive strategic partnership charter with the goal of expanding cooperation in political, economic, and security sectors.

The growing partnership between Washington and Yerevan has become one of the central foreign policy issues ahead of Armenia’s elections, with both government officials and opposition figures debating the country’s future relations with Russia, the West, and regional powers.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.