YEREVAN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that Armenia has never sought and will never seek to create a crisis in its relations with Russia, stressing that the country's foreign policy is guided by its national interests, Armenpress reported.
"We have never sought, do not seek and will not seek to create a crisis in Armenia's relations with Russia. We act in accordance with our country's interests," Pashinyan said at a joint press conference with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
He added that while Armenia does not disregard the interests of its international partners, it cannot place the interests of another country above its own.
Commenting on his telephone conversation with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Wednesday, Pashinyan said the issues discussed had already been outlined in the official readout released after the call.
According to the Armenian prime minister's office, Pashinyan and Mishustin discussed the agenda of Armenian-Russian cooperation, including trade and economic ties, scientific and technical collaboration, as well as cultural and humanitarian exchanges.
"We agreed that we would hold more detailed discussions in the near future," Pashinyan said.
On May 30, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Ambassador Sergey Kopyrkin had been recalled to Moscow for consultations due to the Armenian leadership's closer cooperation with the European Union, which Russia says harms cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union. Kopyrkin has since returned to Yerevan and resumed his duties.
