Armenia’s Western Pivot Survives Moscow’s Pressure Campaign

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won re-election on Sunday, defeating a Russian-backed opposition campaign and keeping the country on the Western trajectory. But the result fell short of giving him the parliamentary supermajority needed to easily implement some of the most consequential elements of his agenda. Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won 64 of 105 seats. It’s enough to remain in power and continue deepening ties with the U.S. and EU, while advancing a U.S.-backed normalization process with Azerbaijan and Turkey. It’s a setback for Moscow, which spent weeks escalating economic pressure on Armenia through trade restrictions,…