Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pashinyan held face-to-face talks today on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The meeting,taking place amid a severe bilateral strain over Yerevan's geopolitical pivot away from Moscow, marks their first in-person dialogue following the June parliamentary election in Armenia, 

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, just days ago, said that, among other issues, the leaders will discuss Yerevan’s aspiration to join the EU and its cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union.

Armenia does not see any contradiction between its obligations toward Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and its aspirations to join the European Union, Pashinyan told Putin according to ArmenPress.