Pashinyan was greeted with a rally in Moscow

Participants in a rally outside the Armenian Embassy in Moscow demanded that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who arrived for a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union Council, release persecuted clergy.

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," on November 16, at a rally outside the Armenian embassy in Moscow, those gathered demanded the release of priests and businessman Samvel Karapetyan, and also expressed disagreement with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's policies toward the church. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Moscow today to attend a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Intergovernmental Commission, the Novosti Armenia agency reported today.

Before leaving Hamburg, Pashinyan told reporters that the question of leaving the EAEU was not yet on the table, but that Armenia's goal was EU membership. 

"We understand that simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU is impossible, and we understand that the time will come when we will need to make a decision. But today is not that time. There is no need to make such a decision today, and if not, then why bother?" he was quoted as saying in the publication.

A protest in defense of the church took place near the Armenian Embassy in Moscow.

The Armenian Prime Minister was greeted with a rally outside the embassy in Moscow. Around 300 people, including clergy, activists, and SVO fighters, gathered outside the building on Armyansky Lane. The protesters called the republic's authorities' decisions to detain the clergy and businessman Samvel Karapetyan unconstitutional, Baza reports.

As can be seen from the video attached to the publication, the protesters unfurled banners, one of which reads in Russian, "Hands off the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. We stand with Etchmiadzin."

The slogan "Freedom for our clergy" was heard outside the embassy, ​​according to a video published by Shot.

"These actions by the Armenian authorities are causing division in Armenian society and the Armenian Church. They want to turn Armenia into Ukraine," said one of the protesters at the embassy in Moscow.

Those gathered prepared a petition expressing their disagreement with the prime minister's actions. They planned to hand the document over to the Armenian ambassador in Moscow, but he refused to come out to the crowd, despite cries of "come out!", according to the video description.

Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan  harshly criticized the Church at a government meeting on May 29, and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for his insults to the Church.

The court  sentenced  Archbishop Mikael Ajapayan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to two years in prison. The defense intends to appeal the verdict, and the case against Bagrat Galstanyan continues in court. Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Priest Garegin Arsenyan  have been arrested  on charges of coercion to participate in public gatherings. 

For more information on the case of Ajapayan and other political opponents of the current government, see the "Caucasian Knot" report " The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in the Summer of 2025. "