Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country has grounds to no longer regard Russia as a strategic partner, pointing to Moscow’s response to the 2022 escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on Thursday, Pashinyan said Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) had failed to meet what Armenia viewed as their security commitments, The Caspian Post reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

Pashinyan questioned how Russia could still be described as a strategic partner following the events of September 2022. He made the remarks while explaining why the Armenian government’s 2026-2031 program does not use that designation for Moscow.

Instead, the program states that Armenia will continue dialogue with Russia on mutually beneficial cooperation while reshaping bilateral ties amid what it describes as new conditions created by the establishment of peace in the region.

Pashinyan told parliament that the transformation of Armenian-Russian relations was a natural consequence of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Russian officials have repeatedly rejected Armenia’s interpretation of the CSTO’s obligations, saying the alliance’s security commitments applied to Armenia’s internationally recognized territory and not Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought several wars and periods of armed conflict over Karabakh and surrounding areas from the late 1980s onward. Azerbaijan regained full control over its internationally recognized territory in 2023.