Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech in Armenian at the expanded summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek. The Kremlin described this as a "signal" regarding Armenia's sovereignty but admitted it "did not understand" why the statement could not have been made in Russian.

At the same time, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Moscow respects the Armenian prime minister's decision.

"Yes, it was a signal—to assert Armenia's sovereignty. Frankly speaking, we did not understand why this could not be stated in Russian... But it is the head of state's choice, and we respect it," Peskov said.

According to the Kremlin representative, however, a Russian translation of Pashinyan's speech was provided. Peskov noted that he was initially unsure whether simultaneous interpretation from Armenian would be available.

"I wondered where the earpiece was that I needed to put on to hear the Russian translation, and I also wondered if the Russian translation would actually take place—whether there was an Armenian-to-Russian interpreter. The translation did take place," he recounted.

Pashinyan was the only CIS leader to speak in a language other than Russian at the expanded SCO+ meeting. The presidents of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan all spoke in Russian. Representatives of other states used their national languages ​​or English.

The Armenian prime minister's speech came against the backdrop of Yerevan's ongoing reassessment of its relations with Moscow. As part of his government's agenda, Pashinyan had previously announced plans to prepare an application for Armenia to join the European Union.

He also met with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. The Russian president invited Pashinyan to Moscow to discuss Armenia's relations with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.