Armenia charts course away from Russia

YEREVAN (AP):

Armenia hosted its first bilateral summit with the European Union yesterday, a landmark diplomatic moment for the Caucasus Mountains nation that has formally declared its ambition to join the bloc and is cautiously loosening its ties with long-time ally Russia.

The EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan follows the eighth gathering of the European Political Community, or EPC, which brought dozens of European leaders to the Armenian capital on Monday to address European defence issues and the Iran war.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s bilateral meeting saw Armenia and the EU sign a connectivity partnership to strengthen economic ties and deepen security cooperation.

The two events underscore how Armenia is seeking to turn westward and shed Russia’s influence. Armenia’s relations with Moscow, its long-time sponsor and ally, have grown increasingly strained since 2023, when neighbouring Azerbaijan fully reclaimed the Karabakh region and ended the decades-long rule by ethnic Armenian separatists.

Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers who were deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught. Moscow, busy with the war in Ukraine, rejected the accusations, arguing that its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.

The war was “a belated demonstration that Russia is dangerously unreliable as a partner”, said Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan.

Since then, the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pursued closer ties with the West, a move welcomed by the 27-nation EU.

The opening ceremony of the EU-Armenia summit yesterday saw European Council President António Costa walk the red carpet side by side with Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while a military band played in front of Armenian and EU flags.

In her opening statement, von der Leyen said that Europe was ready to aid Armenia in becoming a regional hub for global trade routes, including the building of physical infrastructure.

“We’re ready to invest in the local energy production and the energy links across the Black Sea, and we are ready to connect your booming digital scene to Europe’s digital market and turn Armenia’s position at the heart of this region into a motor of growth,” she said.

The new EU-Armenia connectivity partnership will focus on strengthening transportation, energy and digital links. Meanwhile, EU investments in Armenia are expected to reach € 2.5 billion (US$2.9 billion) under its global gateway infrastructure programme, both sides said in a joint statement.

“Today’s EU-Armenia summit sends a clear signal of the EU’s firm commitment to deepen our relations with Armenia, and to strengthen cooperation across many new areas,” Costa said. “Bringing Armenia and its people closer to the European Union.”

The EU, rather than the United States, has stepped into the vacuum left by Russia, Giragosian said.

“EU engagement is much more prudent and much more productive than the US becoming involved, simply because European engagement is less provocative to Russia over the longer term,” he said.

In 2025, Armenia’s parliament passed a law formally declaring the country’s intention to seek EU membership.

However, Giragosian described yesterday’s summit as “a focus on deepening the pre-existing relationship” rather than a step toward candidacy, referencing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement that has governed EU-Armenia ties since fully taking effect in 2021.

“The symbolic significance is much greater as a message to Russia,” he said.

Armenia has also taken other symbolic steps. It joined the International Criminal Court in 2023, a move that Moscow condemned as an “unfriendly step”. The court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

Armenia also froze its participation in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation in 2024.

However, Armenia remains a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, or EEU, a single market allowing the free movement of goods, capital and labour. The organisation also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — and Putin has made the trade-offs plain.