Putin heads to Kazakhstan for EAEU summit amid Armenia's EU bid tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin is travelling to Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), where he is expected to sign deals with Astana and confront the question of Armenia's bid to pursue closer ties with the European Union, according to the Kyiv Post.

Armenia's westward drift has strained its membership of the EAEU, which Moscow regards as a key instrument of regional integration. The Kazakh summit brings together heads of state from the bloc at a politically charged moment: Yerevan's EU aspirations are becoming a formal agenda item just weeks before Armenia's June 7 elections, and observers see Putin's attendance as an opportunity to apply further pressure on a former close ally in the Caucasus.

Putin is also expected to address a nuclear cooperation deal during the visit, the Kyiv Post reported, though no figures or signatories were specified in the available summary.