YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The government plans to elevate the relations with Russia to a new level, Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a campaigning rally of Im Kayl (My Step) bloc in Vanadzor.

“We must continue our work with Russia for strengthening our strategic allied relations. We must elevate them [relations] to a new level in both the EEU, the CSTO, and bilateral levels,” Pashinyan said.

Speaking about the latest development in the CSTO, Pashinyan said that Armenia has a lot to clarify with its allies.

“The reason of the [heated] discussions concerning the CSTO is to clarify the allied relations of the organization’s member countries. It is unclear for us why our allies are selling weapons to a country that is hostile towards us. We are set to discuss this topic clearly and straightforwardly with our partners in order to know on whom to rely on and whom not. But we must first of all rely on ourselves, and this requires to be economically stronger,” he said.

Armenia will elect a new parliament on December 9.

The campaigning period kicked off November 26 and will run through December 7.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan