Putin Sends Support to Jailed Kocharyan as Armenia Drifts From Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent birthday congratulations to jailed former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, wishing him “resilience in the face of adversity” shortly before Putin was due to meet Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Bishkek. The message, published by the Kremlin, came after Kocharyan was detained last week and ordered held for two months on corruption charges.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “In Russia, we do not forget your personal contribution to the development of friendly, allied relations between our countries,” Putin wrote. He wished Kocharyan “good health, spiritual strength and resilience in the face of the trials that you and members of your family are currently facing.” Kocharyan, who served as Armenia’s president from 1998 to 2008 and now leads the opposition Armenia Alliance, was detained on Aug. 25 after authorities searched businesses linked to his family. Prosecutors have charged him with abuse of office, accepting a particularly large bribe and money laundering. His eldest son, Sedrak Kocharyan, was also detained in the same investigation. His detention came amid rising tensions between Pashinyan’s government and Armenia’s pro-Russian opposition as Yerevan increasingly distances itself from Moscow and seeks closer ties with the West. Putin’s unusually pointed birthday message came just before his scheduled Sept. 1 meeting with Pashinyan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek. Other Topics of Interest European Ministers Boycott Russian Counterpart After Surprise US G20 Invitation Anton Siluanov’s surprise return to a US-hosted G20 meeting exposed a widening transatlantic split over pressure on Moscow. Kocharyan has long maintained close personal ties with Putin and advocated preserving Armenia’s strategic relationship with Russia. Putin has publicly supported Kocharyan during previous legal troubles as well. When Kocharyan was jailed in an earlier criminal case, Putin continued sending him birthday and holiday greetings, gestures that Kocharyan described at the time as a sign of “serious support.” Moscow losing its grip US analyst Paul Goble told Kyiv Post that Armenia’s broader shift away from Moscow reflects Russia’s declining influence in the South Caucasus. According to Goble, the shift extends beyond Pashinyan personally and reflects a broader change in Armenia’s understanding of its place in the region. Armenia may continue cooperating with Moscow where its interests require it, he said, but is increasingly unwilling to accept what Goble called Russia’s “imperial approach of total dominance.” Kocharyan’s arrest adds to a growing list of setbacks for longtime Kremlin partners far beyond the former Soviet space – from Bashar al-Assad, ousted in Syria and forced into exile in Moscow, to Nicolás Maduro, removed from power in Venezuela earlier this year. For Moscow, the pattern underscores a broader erosion of influence: ties to the Kremlin are increasingly no guarantee of political survival. Sevinj Osmanqizi is an experienced journalist who writes extensively for Kyiv Post on foreign policy, international security and geopolitics. Based in Washington, D.C., her work focuses on Ukraine, Russia’s war and the broader post-Soviet space.