Armenia’s prime minister talks with Putin in Moscow while allies’ ties are under strain

MOSCOW (AP) — Armenia’s prime minister has talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as tensions are spiraling between the estranged allies. Putin hosted Nikol Pashinyan for talks following a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union, a Moscow-dominated economic alliance they both attended earlier in the day. In brief remarks at the start of Wednesday’s talks, Putin said that bilateral trade was growing, but acknowledged “issues concerning security in the region.” Armenia’s ties with its longtime ally Russia grew increasingly strained after Azerbaijan waged a military campaign in September to reclaim the Karabakh region, ending three decades of ethnic Armenian separatists’ rule there. Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to stop the onslaught.