For the first time in its history, the European Union held a full summit with Armenia. The meeting, which took place in Yerevan on 4–5 May 2026, was not merely a diplomatic milestone for Armenia. It also sent a signal to governments thousands of kilometers away in Central Asia that the trade route linking Asia to Europe through the South Caucasus is becoming more real, and more politically backed, than ever before.
The centerpiece of the summit saw the signing of a “Connectivity Partnership” between Brussels and Yerevan. The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, described Armenia as “uniquely positioned” to connect Europe with the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Under the EU’s Global Gateway program, investments in Armenia are expected to reach €2.5 billion. A further €3 billion is earmarked specifically for the Middle Corridor – the trade route that runs from China across Central Asia, over the Caspian Sea, through the South Caucasus, and into Europe.
“We will support your integration into key transport networks like the Trans-Caspian Corridor. It is a route that is also of strategic importance for Europe, given the growing flows of trade between our two regions,” von der Leyen stated.
A Route That Is Already Moving Fast
The Middle Corridor, formally known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), has grown at a pace that few predicted. Cargo volumes rose 70 percent in the first nine months of 2024 alone, reaching 3.4 million tons. By the end of that year, the total had climbed to 4.1 million tons – up from just 350,000 tons in 2021. The World Bank projects that the route could handle up to 11 million tonnes a year by 2030.
It’s important to maintain some perspective. These numbers are small fry when compared to the billions of tons of trade that moves between Europe and Asia by sea. However, the Middle Corridor does offer important diversification, particularly given the spillover effects of wars in the Middle East and piracy in the Red Sea.
Image: Trans Caspian International Transport Route and it’s southern part, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project. Source: middlecorridor.com
Where Uzbekistan Stands
For Uzbekistan, the Middle Corridor is both an opportunity and a work in progress. In January 2025, President Mirziyoyev signed a decree to upgrade road and rail connectivity, and in September 2024, Tashkent co-founded the Eurasian Transport Route Association alongside Austria, Azerbaijan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkey. In December 2024, Uzbekistan sent its first block train all the way to Brazil – through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and the Georgian port of Poti – proving the route is operationally viable.
But costs remain a challenge. Shipping a 40-foot container via the Middle Corridor currently costs between $3,500 and $4,500, compared to $2,800–$3,200 on the Northern Corridor through Russia. Europe, meanwhile, accounts for only around 3 percent of Uzbekistan’s exports and 13 percent of its imports — a share that Tashkent wants to grow significantly.
The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) railway — a $8 billion, 573-kilometre project whose joint construction company was established in July 2024 — is the most consequential single piece of infrastructure in play. Once complete, it will give Uzbekistan an alternative means to access China by rail, bypassing Kazakhstan. As a 2025 analysis by Trends Research noted, the CKU will reduce transit time between China and Europe and lower export costs for the Fergana Valley — Uzbekistan’s industrial heartland.
Where Armenia Fits In
For three decades, Yerevan has been cut off from regional logistics networks after Azerbaijan and Turkey closed their borders in the early 1990s. The EU summit this week marks the clearest signal yet that this isolation is ending.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, speaking at an EU connectivity ministerial in Luxembourg last October, framed the stakes directly: “Being at the crossroads, Armenia can play a crucial role in the chain connecting Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.” He also echoed von der Leyen’s earlier assessment that opening Armenia’s borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey would be, in the Commission President’s words, a “game-changer” for the entire corridor.
Such an endeavor is likely to be contingent on the Armenian elections, which take place on June 7. Current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is bidding to earn himself a two-thirds majority in the country’s parliament, which will enable him to change the constitution to remove Armenia’s claims on the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan has made this a prerequisite for any final agreement on opening the TRIPP route through Armenia.
But he has his work cut out to achieve this. Russia has acted in its traditional role of spoiler, funneling money to various opposition parties in order to try to keep Armenia within its orbit.
Should Pashinyan prevail, the combined southern route, combining the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the TRIPP corridor through Armenia, could allow cargo to be transported from Kashgar to European markets in about 10-14 days – about 900 kilometers shorter than the existing northern routes – which could reduce land costs per container by 20-30 percent compared to current prices.
It’s a prize that many in Central Asia are quietly hoping for.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the publication, its affiliates, or any other organizations mentioned.
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Armenia, France Deepen Defense Ties With Focus on AI, Drone Development
France and Armenia have signed a new agreement to expand cooperation in defense innovation, focusing on emerging technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence, and quantum systems.
The agreement builds on cooperation that began in 2023 and aims to move joint work from dialogue into structured projects.
The deal is expected to support joint research initiatives, knowledge exchange programs, and collaboration between defense industries in both countries.
French Minister Delegate for Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Alice Rufo and Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan formalized the memorandum of understanding during President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit.
“These agreements open new opportunities for expanding Armenia-France collaboration in strategic sectors, fostering technological advancement, strengthening innovation ecosystems, and reinforcing bilateral partnership,” Hayrapetyan said.
Armenia’s Wider Security Talks
The new agreement follows a broader series of defense discussions in Europe.
Armenia in May hosted a summit with European Union leaders to advance closer ties, signaling another step in its gradual shift away from Russia toward Brussels.
The talks were attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. Von der Leyen said the aim was to “take a leap forward in a new level of cooperation.”
Armenia has traditionally been aligned with Russia but relations have become strained recently. Yerevan, for its part, continues to balance engagement with both Moscow and the West.
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Armenia arrests suspects in two Karapetyan-linked alleged vote-buying cases
Armenian authorities have launched two separate investigations over allegations of vote buying on behalf of Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenian Alliance of Parties. Karapetyan, in turn, has refuted the involvement of his alliance.
In the case announced on Thursday, an unspecified number of people were arrested on suspicion of vote-buying and attempts to obstruct free voting through threats.
Those detained are reportedly linked to an unnamed Armenian businessperson based in Russia’s Orenburg region.
In March, Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) detected signs of possible foreign interference ahead of the country’s 7 June parliamentary elections.
Based on intelligence, the FIS said various actors in an unnamed foreign country, who reportedly present themselves as representatives of that country’s intelligence agency, ‘are attempting to exert pressure’ on individuals of Armenian origin and Armenian nationals engaged in economic activities there.
In its statement on Thursday, the Anti-Corruption Committee said in coordination with other relevant state bodies they ‘obtained evidence’ supporting the allegations that they had offered ‘debt relief’ and ‘job promises’ to voters in exchange for support of Karapetyan’s alliance.
‘In addition, the same individuals attempted to obstruct the free exercise of the voting rights of several residents of the Sisian community in Syunik Province, by threatening them with violence’, the statement read.
The authorities also released wiretapped phone recordings to support their allegations. The announcement came on the same day Karapetyan held a press briefing rejecting all claims of vote-buying involving his camp.
‘We, as the leading force, have no need to give bribes’, Karapetyan stated.
Despite Karapetyan’s denial of their involvement, the Anti-Corruption Committee announced further arrests on Friday, this time in the Shirak province, again without disclosing the number of individuals involved.
According to authorities, the Strong Armenia party’s representative in the Ani community, along with close relatives and others, allegedly organised bribery schemes in favour of the alliance.
They reportedly ‘concealed’ the bribes by registering these individuals in the party’s local offices and paying them ֏80,000 ($220) to ֏200,000 ($550) as ‘salaries’.
Officials also accused another individual linked to the party of attempting to influence voters through material incentives, as well as issuing threats against those who refused to comply with demands allegedly made on behalf of ‘high-ranking figures’ in the post-Soviet mafia network known as the thieves-in-law.
For this case as well, wiretapped phone calls were released, along with other documents allegedly showing the names of those involved.
These are the latest of similar criminal cases involving Karapetyan’s affiliates launched in the last several months.
Karapetyan’s alliance is expected to be the main challenger of the ruling Civil Contract party in the parliamentary elections.
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Armenia is predicted to face a civil war due to its rapprochement with the Wes
In this case, Azerbaijan would benefit from the conflict, while Russia would suffer politically and militarily.
Thus, the process of a civil war could be launched in order to subsequently transfer the southern territories of Armenia to the control of Azerbaijan and pro-Western forces. “And, of course, they will push our 102nd base out of Gyumri, which means that they will completely separate it from Russia,” Mikhailov explained.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the intensification of Armenia’s contacts with the European Union. “We hope that the Armenian leadership does not forget that everything has its price in Brussels. The experience of other countries shows that such flirtations with the West rarely end well for the countries that get involved,” the ministry said.
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Mahdessian re-elected as Armenian Cypriot parliament representative
May 7 2026
Mahdessian re-elected as Armenian Cypriot parliament representative
Vartkes Mahdessian was on Thursday re-elected as the Armenian Cypriot community’s non-voting representative in parliament.
He was the sole candidate to have registered for the seat on Wednesday, and with 24 hours having passed after the closing of nominations and no objections to his candidacy having been filed, he was proclaimed as the election’s winner unopposed.
The 76-year-old was first elected to the role in 2006 and will now serve in the role for a fifth five-year term.
The seat will be up for re-election in 2031.
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Russia expresses outrage over Zelenskyi’s remarks at EPC summit in Yerevan
Moscow has expressed outrage over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s remarks at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan amidst renewed diplomatic tensions between Armenia and Russia.
On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia Gurgen Arsenyan over what he claimed was Zelenskyi ‘voice[ing] terrorist threats against Russia’ during the EPC summit hosted in Yerevan earlier this week.
According to the Russian readout of the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said the use of Armenia to make such statements was ‘categorically unacceptable’.
‘It was emphasised that Moscow is justifiably indignant at this and considers Yerevan’s failure to properly negatively assess such outrageous behaviour by the aforementioned visitor to be inconsistent with the partnership-based nature of Russian-Armenian relations’, the statement read.
At the EPC summit, Zelenskyi referred to Russia’s planned 9 May Victory Day parade in Moscow — the country’s most cherished holiday, which celebrates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in WWII — noting it would be held without military equipment for the first time ‘in many, many years’.
‘They cannot afford military equipment – and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling. It shows they are not strong now’, Zelenskyi said.
Following his remarks, Moscow warned diplomatic missions accredited in Russia to ‘ensure the timely evacuation’ from Kyiv ‘in view of the inevitable retaliatory strike’ by Russia on Kyiv, should Ukraine ‘carry out its criminal terrorist plans during the Victory Day celebrations’.
Armenian authorities have not yet commented. However, earlier on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated Yerevan’s position that ‘on the issue of Ukraine, we are not allies with Russia’.
Pashinyan also said he would not attend the 9 May parade due to the 7 June parliamentary election campaign, which begins on Friday.
There were also domestic political implications of Zelenskyi’s visit and the subsequent backlash from Moscow.
Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, whose alliance is expected to be the main challenger of Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party in the elections, called Zelenskyi’s attendance at the EPC ‘stupidity by the authorities towards their ally’. He added that it was an example of ‘treachery’ towards Armenians, who were unlikely to gain anything from his visit.
‘The Europeans brought Zelenskyi so that Pashinyan could give him a masterclass in how to boldly surrender your own territories’, Karapetyan said. He added that ‘Pashinyan has only one thing left to sell to the Europeans — an anti-Russian policy, which the Europeans will buy from him with pleasure’.
Armenia–Russia relations have seen renewed tension over the past month, following talks between Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 1 April.
Immediately after the talks, Russia announced ‘stricter requirements’ on the import of Armenian products and warned of a possible restructuring of economic ties, alongside restrictions on Armenian goods sold in Russia, including a ban affecting around 1.4 million bottles of Jermuk mineral water.
‘Intrusive activity’ and ‘pure envy’
Beyond its criticism of Zelenskyi’s remarks in Yerevan, Russia also accused the EU of ‘intrusive activity’ in Armenia’s elections, citing the deployment of a rapid response group and a new EU mission in Armenia, tasked to support the country in facing ‘multi-layered threats such as foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), cyber-attacks and illicit financial flows’.
Noting that Armenia faces hybrid threats from various countries, Yerevan previously mentioned Russian bot networks such as ‘Matroshka’ and ‘Storm’, involved in disseminating foreign disinformation targeting Armenia ahead of the elections.
‘We hope that the Armenian leadership doesn’t forget that everything has a price with Brussels. The experience of other countries shows that such overtures to the West rarely end well for the states involved. For example, by joining Brussels’ anti-Russian agenda’, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov warned Yerevan against any attempts to ‘sit on two chairs’.
‘How long they can maintain this position, so to speak, I don’t know, but all of this is certainly detrimental to the development of our bilateral relations, which are so beneficial for both Russia and Armenia’, Ushakov said.
Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed Armenia ‘is being increasingly drawn toward aggressive Euro-Atlantic standards and mechanisms that are alien to it’.
‘This course of action by the Armenian authorities will sooner or later lead to Yerevan’s irreversible involvement in Brussels’ anti-Russian line, with all the attendant political and economic consequences for the country itself’, Zakharova warned.
She also accused Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan of ‘pure envy’ over his recent remarks regarding Belarus, in which he said ‘Armenia should not become a [province] and be governed the way Belarus is’.
‘In my opinion, […] Simonyan is simply envious of the results Belarus has achieved that his country has not achieved under the current leadership’, Zakharova said.
In response to Simonyan’s statement, Belarus summoned Armenia’s Chargé d’Affaires Artur Sargsyan over what it claimed were ‘unfriendly actions’ from Yerevan.
Later, Simonyan said that he did not regret for his statement and further suggested that Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka ‘should first and foremost think about his own country, its internal stability, freedom of speech, political independence, and very, very much about the process of growing potatoes’.
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Russia Says ‘Indignant’ Over Ally Armenia Hosting Zelensky, Summons Envoy
Russia said Thursday that it was “indignant” over its ally Armenia hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a European summit earlier this week, and cautioned the country against deeper European integration.
Armenia’s envoy was summoned for a dressing down in the foreign ministry, another sign of fraying ties between Yerevan and its former imperial ruler.
The former Soviet republic froze its membership in the Russian-led CSTO military alliance in 2024 over Russia’s failure to defend it against Azerbaijan, and has expressed an interest in joining the European Union, angering the Kremlin.
“It was categorically unacceptable for Armenia to have provided a ‘platform’ to… V. Zelensky, during recent EU-sponsored events,” the foreign ministry said, adding that Moscow was “justifiably indignant” over the matter.
Earlier at a weekly briefing, the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that “Russian society, with deep indignation and bewilderment, not only saw, but above all remembered, the fact that Armenia, which we are accustomed to considering a friendly, fraternal country, had served as a platform. For whom? For a terrorist.”
Since launching its full-scale military offensive in February 2022, Russian officials have regularly hurled insults at Zelensky and routinely call Kyiv a “terrorist state” — outbursts rejected and dismissed in Kyiv as baseless wartime propaganda.
“No one in Armenia’s current leadership snubbed Zelensky. So whose side are you on, historically?” she asked.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters Thursday: “Back in 2022-2023 I already stated that, on the issue of Ukraine, we are not an ally of Russia.”
Zakharova also criticized a joint declaration that Armenia and the European Union adopted at their summit on Tuesday.
The document recognises Yerevan’s aspiration to join the bloc and deepens cooperation between the two sides in economic and security matters.
“Such a course on the part of the Armenian authorities will sooner or later lead to Yerevan’s irreversible involvement in Brussels’s anti-Russian line, with all the ensuing political and economic consequences for Armenia,” Zakharova said.
The nation of three million people bordering Iran and Turkey passed a law last year formally declaring its intention to apply for EU membership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Pashinyan in April that Yerevan could not be a member of both the European Union and the Russian-led customs bloc.
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The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Armenian ambassador to the carpet be
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Armenian ambassador because of the provision of a platform for the head of the Kiev regime Vladimir Zelensky to speak in In Yerevan during events under the auspices of the EU, where he threatened Russia. This is stated in the message of the department.
“On May 7, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Russia was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Of the Russian Federation G. B. Arsenyan. He met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin.
The head of the diplomatic mission was told about the categorical unacceptability of providing in Armenia in the framework of recent events under the auspices of EU tribunes to the leader of the Kiev Nazi regime V. Zelensky for voicing terrorist threats against Russia. It was emphasized that Moscow is justly indignant in this regard and considers the lack of a proper negative assessment by official Yerevan of such blatant behavior of the said visitor inappropriate to the partnership nature of Russian-Armenian relations,” the statement said.
It is noted that the ambassador promised to report to Yerevan on the presentation made by the Russian side.
As EADaily reported, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note to all diplomatic missions and representative offices of international organizations accredited to the department about the need to ensure the evacuation of employees of representative offices and citizens from In case Vladimir Zelensky carries out his threat to strike at Red Square during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
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Russian Foreign Ministry says it summoned Armenia’s envoy over Zelenskiy’s com
Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Matthew Lewis
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Turkish Press: Armenia-Türkiye thaw: A ‘strategic moment’ for South Caucasus
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