Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Russia on an official visit. According to his office, he is scheduled to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. This visit was his first to Russia since the June elections, as Moscow has yet to congratulate him and his Civil Contract party on their victory.

Pashinyan departed for Russia on Monday morning.

He is scheduled to take part in the Innoprom International Industrial Exhibition in Yekaterinburg. However, according to independent media outlet Civilnet, Pashinyan’s name was removed from the list of speakers at the forum, where he was meant to deliver a speech.

Details have yet to emerge on his meeting with Mishustin. In early July, the two held a call in what appeared to have been Pashinyan’s first contact with a Russian official since the elections.

The forum will not be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In late-June, Pashinyan said that there were no meetings scheduled between him and Putin, but that he was ‘sure there will be one in the near future’.

Russia has notably not recognised the outcome of the elections, nor has it congratulated Pashinyan for his victory, breaking tradition as a longtime ally of Armenia. Instead, various Russia officials dubbed the elections as ‘questionable’, claimed unprecedented Western involvement in the vote, and reportedly instructed state media to portray the vote as a ‘loss’ for Pashinyan and to question his legitimacy.

The lead-up to the vote was marked by increased tensions between Yerevan and Moscow, with the latter imposing a variety of economic restrictions on Armenian goods.

The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has also issued regular statements calling on Armenia to choose between remaining in the bloc and joining the EU.

In an interview with Civilnet, Armenia’s Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan said that he did not imagine a scenario in which Armenia would leave the EAEU. In light of Russian restrictions on Armenian goods, Hovhannisyan added that Armenian exports to Russia account for about 3% of Armenia’s GDP, and that the state would work to mitigate losses in the short-term, but help businesses reach ‘other markets’ in the future.