Pashinyan makes regional ties heart of Armenia’s pre-election foreign policy pitch

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has made the expansion of ties with all of Yerevan’s neighbors a centerpiece of his ruling party’s pre-election platform, pledging to deepen relations with Georgia, Iran, Türkiye and Azerbaijan and calling for the full reopening of regional transport links that have long been closed or underused.

Presenting the program of the Civil Contract party ahead of upcoming elections, Pashinyan described closer ties with neighboring states as a matter of “great importance,” saying his party would continue down that path. He called for implementation of the TRIPP, Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, project and the launch of the Gyumri-Kars railway, a direct rail link between Armenia and Türkiye that has never entered operation, arguing both steps would reinforce peace and cooperation across the region.

Pashinyan also acknowledged a fundamental shift in how Armenia now conducts its regional diplomacy. Yerevan had previously managed its relationships with Türkiye and Azerbaijan through third-country intermediaries, he said, a practice he argued had held back peace efforts. That approach, he said, has changed.

Border opening waits on Ankara’s final call

The most immediate test of that new approach may be the land border with Türkiye, sealed for more than three decades. Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, speaking to reporters at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, said Yerevan had already done everything required on its side. “Both politically and technically, we are ready — the necessary infrastructure work at the border has been completed,” he said. “At this point, the decision rests with Türkiye.”

The border has been closed since 1993, when Türkiye shut it in solidarity with Azerbaijan during the first Karabakh war. Diplomatic contacts between Ankara and Yerevan have accelerated in recent years, but the physical crossing remains one of the most tangible unresolved elements of the relationship.

Kostanyan said dialogue between the two countries had advanced well beyond foreign ministry channels, with engagement now reaching the leadership level and contacts expanding across multiple ministries. He described the process as constructive and multi-dimensional. No new meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pashinyan was currently scheduled, he said, though the two leaders remain in contact, and last year’s visit between them was an important step.

Peace with Azerbaijan opens new economic chapter

Pashinyan also confirmed Armenia’s readiness to participate actively in the “3+3” regional cooperation format, which brings together Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia alongside Türkiye, Russia and Iran, a framework that would have been unthinkable during the years of active conflict with Baku.

Kostanyan described the Armenia-Azerbaijan relationship as entering a new phase focused on economic cooperation and trade, with technical processes such as border delimitation moving forward at their own pace. The two countries fought two wars over Karabakh, in 1991-1994 and again in 2020, before Azerbaijan reclaimed full control of the territory in a military operation in 2023.

On the broader regional security picture, Kostanyan addressed the tension between the United States and Iran, saying disputes between the two sides needed to be resolved through diplomacy. He expressed cautious optimism about the prospects for lasting peace in the region but warned that instability was not cost-free for Armenia.

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy flows, were already affecting the Armenian economy indirectly, he said. While no serious crisis had emerged so far, a prolonged deterioration could weigh on the country’s growth trajectory and economic outlook.

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