Armenia’s government risks plunging the country into widespread poverty with plans to seek its membership in the European Union, Russia said on Friday in yet another warning to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Zakharova added that in 2024, Armenia’s trade with the European Union and the US dropped considerably and is approximately six times less than Armenia’s trade with Russia.

Armenia is geared up to complete the normalization process with Azerbaijan through its "Crossroads of Peace" initiative, which includes economic and transportation ties, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced on Thursday.

Police used force against several opposition members of Yerevan’s municipal council on Friday during its ill-tempered session that discussed a significant increase in the cost of public transport initiated by Mayor Tigran Avinian.

The diplomatic scandal between Yerevan and Minsk arose after Lukashenko’s outrageous statements during a visit to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev. In response, Pashinyan announced that as long as Lukashenko is the president of Belarus, he will not visit that country.

Membership in the EAEU provides significant economic benefits to Armenia and other member states of the Union, which is also acknowledged by Yerevan, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a briefing.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have a long history of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan until recently mainly populated by Armenians. The first war between them in the 1990s led to the establishment of a self-proclaimed Armenian republic, which no country recognised.

Moscow intensified its criticism of Yerevan’s efforts to garner membership in the European Union, with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signaling that Armenia’s population should prepare for “several cold winters.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze ended his working visit to Armenia on Thursday, with his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan escorting him to the Yerevan International Airport for a departure ceremony.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a press conference that Armenia, as part of the process of unblocking regional communications, has proposed establishing a railway connection between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan for cargo transportation via Armenia's Meghri.

Irakli Karseladze, the Georgian Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, on Thursday described the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Georgia and Armenia held in Yerevan today as a “very important” and “fruitful” meeting.

YEREVAN. Jan 31 (Interfax) - Yerevan has offered Baku to launch rail freight transportation, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.