Hraparak daily of Armenia writes as follows, in particular: Although [PM] Nikol Pashinyan and his team outwardly show that their policy toward Russia is just and well-founded, Armenia itself is experiencing a flourishing of sovereignty, and they have no intention of "taking their foot off the gas [pedal]," in reality, they are terrified of Russian sanctions and what these can lead to.

For this reason, according to our information, upon returning from [the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last week in] Bishkek, the team was warned on Pashinyan's behalf: to be as restrained as possible when speaking about Russia—and at times even to make declarations of loyalty to the RF [i.e. the Russian Federation]—until they figure out how the Russian compulsion [on Armenia] regarding deciding between the EU and the EAEU will end.

They say even the most ardent pro-Westerners are complying with the directive, since even during the closed discussions on Armenia's EU membership [prospects], almost everyone noted the expected risks and advised the leadership to take this path if there were clear guarantees from the EU.