On September 4, Konstantin Zatulin, the First Deputy Chairman of the Lower House Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, said that the Armenian Prime Minister is making increasingly unbridled statements about Russia. 

Zatulin noted, "Pashinyan is talking about Russia more and more, more frankly and more licentiously. During official talks with our delegations, Pashinyan behaves more and more unfriendly. He believes that the opposition is not strong enough and is compromised enough by being indiscriminately accused of the sins of the past. Pashinyan, if he succeeds, will lead Armenia to the position of an ordinary Middle Eastern country, where 'buy and sell' is the main meaning and where there are no significant national interests except personal prosperity. There are already people in his entourage who openly bet on joint business with Turks, with Azerbaijanis, and so on, which was categorically impossible before."

Zatulin believes it would be favorable for Armenia's opponents to keep Nikol Pashinyan and his government in power. "The West is confident that the incumbent prime minister is capable of forcing Russia out of the republic," the official explained.

"Pashinyan is currently the most convenient leader for Azerbaijan and Turkey, i.e. Armenia's historical adversaries. It was under Pashinyan that Armenia suffered a humiliating defeat both militarily and diplomatically. From this point of view, it is no coincidence that with all the rhetoric, the Azerbaijani authorities are very concerned about Pashinyan remaining in power. Pashinyan is certainly counting on the fact that his reorientation from Russia to the West, his talks in Brussels, in Washington, and his trips to Western capitals have given the West the impression that Pashinyan is the man who is capable of forcing Russia out of Armenia sooner or later," he added. 

Zatulin emphasized, "This is confirmed by the falling popularity ratings of Russia, which is a consequence of propaganda at all levels, coming, among other things, from circles supporting Pashinyan and his government. He has his own way of seeing the situation and believes that Russia is, in fact, stuck in Ukraine today. He was already saying that in the early stages of the special military operation [ed. Russia's war in Ukraine] in the West that Armenia would not benefit from a Russian victory so that the Soviet Union would not be restored."

As previously reported by Caucasus Watch, on September 2, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Russian peacekeepers are not fulfilling the mission entrusted to them by the trilateral declaration. He also said that Armenia's complete dependence on Russia in the field of security was a mistake.