Pashinyan heads for a landslide victory in the elections. Euronews

A new poll predicts that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party could win a parliamentary majority. At the same time, Russia steps up its campaign against Yerevan’s pro-Western reorientation, warning of a Ukrainian scenario.

Euronews reports. The full article is below.

“​A recent poll ahead of Armenia’s crucial elections on June 7 predicts that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civic Contract party could win almost 65% of the vote among voters, suggesting it could be on course for a landslide victory and a significant majority in the next parliament.

The Breavis poll, conducted between May 5 and 11 among 1,551 respondents, showed the Civil Pact would hold a comfortable lead over a fragmented opposition, some of which is actively supported by Russia, with no single party exceeding 12%.

If next Sunday’s vote is anything to go by, Armenians will give Pashinyan a decisive mandate to solidify the South Caucasus country’s strategic reorientation toward the West, bringing it into conflict with the Kremlin and cementing a historic peace agreement with Azerbaijan over Karabakh, further promoting regional stability and cooperation.

The agreement was signed last year at the White House by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, ending decades of conflict between the two countries.

​The Breavis poll also signals a reassessment of Yerevan’s national strategy and a further turn toward the West after decades in Russia’s post-Soviet orbit.

​In recent weeks, Moscow has steadily increased pressure on Yerevan, including significant trade sanctions, threats to suspend its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Moscow-led bloc of five former Soviet states that operates as a single integrated market and free trade zone, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s drawing parallels between Armenia and Ukraine, days after his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump expressed his “full and absolute support” for Pashinyan.

​The release of the new poll also coincides with Russia recalling its ambassador to Armenia “for consultations” over Yerevan’s decision to accelerate its path to EU membership.

​“The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia, S.P. Kopyrkin, has been summoned to Moscow for consultations regarding the steps taken by the Armenian leadership to move closer to the European Union,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

​A day earlier, the Kremlin continued its onslaught of economic warnings and measures, announcing that it would impose “temporary restrictions” on Armenian exports of some fruits and vegetables, adding to recent bans on Armenian mineral water, wines and brandy after threatening to cut off supplies of cheap gas and oil that are vital to the country.

​Armenia, with a population of about 3 million, imported more than 80% of its gas from Russia last year.

​Also on Friday, the leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union issued a joint statement warning Armenia that its plans to join the EU pose “serious risks” to the economic security of all member states.

​At a summit in Astana, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan called on Yerevan to hold a nationwide referendum as soon as possible on Armenia’s choice between the EU and the Moscow-led bloc.

​At the summit, Putin also repeated an earlier parallel between Ukraine and Armenia, telling reporters gathered at the EAEU summit in Astana that “the crisis in Ukraine began at a moment when Ukraine made attempts to join the EU.”

​While the EAEU statement only mentioned Armenia’s pro-European orientation, it came just a day after Trump expressed his “full and absolute support” for Pashinyan’s reelection, describing him as a “great friend and leader” who is making Armenia “strong, wealthy, and very secure.”

Moscow has launched a broad and intensive disinformation campaign in Armenia in support of pro-Russian opposition candidates, including a covert effort to undermine Pashinyan.

Citing Western intelligence officials, Reuters reported on Saturday that Moscow is planning to move tens of thousands of Armenian voters out of Russia in an effort to influence the election.