Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he sees no advantage in the continued presence of Russian military bases in Armenia, the Wall Street Journal reports. He also told the newspaper that Yerevan is looking for new partners, since Moscow, in his words, “has not fulfilled its allied obligations.”

“Moscow has failed to fulfill its allied obligations, as the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has shown. These events, in fact, led us to the decision that we need to diversify our security relations, and now we are trying to do this,” Pashinyan said. He also noted that the partners did not respond to the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan, although the CSTO charter and the agreement with Moscow indicate what should happen in the event of an attack on the territory of a member of the bloc and an ally.

The Armenian prime minister added that he is optimistic about the prospects for a peaceful settlement of relations with Baku and believes that the future of the region lies in the opening of land connections between Azerbaijan and Turkey through Armenia.