Armenia has declined to host the forthcoming summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), originally scheduled for December 25 in Yerevan, the country's capital. Instead, the meeting will be held in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

The refusal to host the summit comes amid growing tensions between Armenia and Russia over the latter's inaction against Azerbaijan's military activities in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yerevan’s decision not to host the summit, announced by a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, marks the second time this year that an EEU summit will not be held in Armenia, despite the country holding the rotating presidency of the organisation.

"At the request of the Armenian side, the meeting will be organised on Russian territory, although it will be chaired by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan," Yury Ushakov, Putin's aide, said in a statement. 

Armenian officials, including Pashinyan's office and the foreign ministry, have refused to give a specific reason for the move. The decision has drawn criticism from opposition politicians, who say it will damage Armenia's reputation within the Russia-led trade bloc.

Aside from Yerevan’s frustration with Moscow’s lack of support against Azerbaijan, relations have been further strained since Armenia ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in October 2023. The move angered Moscow, as the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in early 2023 over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Armenia's ratification of the ICC treaty raised the question of whether the Russian leader could be arrested if he visited the country, a scenario that Armenian officials have not directly addressed. Putin has not visited Armenia since then. 

Armenian opposition leaders argue that the decision to postpone the summit is linked to these diplomatic tensions, condemning Armenia's decision to boycott the economic summit while being heavily dependent on Russia. 

Beyond the EEU, Armenia has also taken steps to distance itself from other Russian-led alliances. Pashinyan recently announced Armenia's plans to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), citing dissatisfaction with the bloc's response to regional security issues, including tensions with neighbouring Azerbaijan. While Armenia remains a member of the EEU, its government has increasingly signalled a shift towards closer relations with Western countries.

Despite these tensions, however, Russia remains Armenia's largest trade partner, accounting for 41% of its foreign trade in the first nine months of 2024. 

While distancing itself from Russia, Armenia has turned to the West in search of new security and economic alliances. While the arms deals with France, India and reportedly Greece have come to fruition in the past two years, the Armenian economy remains overly dependent on Russian capital, not only in terms of exports and imports, but also through Russia's control over Armenia's strategic infrastructure.