Armenia’s hosting of EU summits highlights growing international role

A leading international relations and security analyst has said that by hosting the European Political Community Summit, as well as the first-ever EU–Armenia summit, Armenia enhances its role in international affairs.

In an interview with Armenpress, Sossi Tatikyan, President and Co-Founder of the Yerevan Centre for Foreign and Security Policy, an independent think tank, recalled the first two meetings of the European Political Community (EPC), the first of which was held in Prague in 2022 and the second in Granada in 2023.

She noted that the first high-level event to be held in Yerevan in May—the 8th European Political Community Summit—has no direct link to Armenia in terms of content, and that Yerevan is simply the host, but added that hosting the event highlights Armenia’s position as one of the EU’s closest partners.

“These meetings have been very important for us because decisions directly related to Armenia were adopted, particularly at the Prague summit. In the case of Granada, a supportive decision was also made regarding us, but as you may recall, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev boycotted the meeting, using as a pretext a statement by the French foreign minister that Paris would begin supplying arms to Armenia,” Tatikyan said.

She highlighted that European Political Community meetings are held in EU member states as well as in candidate or partner countries.

“What makes hosting this summit in Yerevan important is, first, that it demonstrates the high level of relations with the European Union and the fact that we are, in effect, among its closest partner countries. Second, as a small country, it is a major opportunity to host such a large number of heads of state, as well as the leadership of the European Union,” she said.

According to the expert, hosting such an event in Yerevan also highlights Armenia’s role as a factor in international relations.

“This is about the fact that Armenia, as a small state, is increasing its role by hosting such an event. The fact that the EU’s top leadership and a large number of world leaders will visit Armenia is already very important for the country’s visibility and international standing,” Tatikyan said, expressing confidence that Yerevan will be able to host the events at a high level.

She also noted an additional interesting factor, pointing out that despite the war in neighbouring Iran, the European Union did not change its decision to hold the summit in Armenia.

“When the war in Iran began, I personally had concerns that the EU might decide not to hold the event in Armenia due to security issues. However, we see that the venue was not changed. This says a lot—it shows a certain level of trust in Armenia’s ability to ensure security. It means Armenia is considered a safe country capable of hosting such a high-level event,” she said.

Speaking about the EU-Armenia summit to be held after the EPC summit, Tatikyan stressed that it represents another step on the path of European integration.

“As an advocate of the European Union, I would very much like Armenia’s aspirations for future membership to be formalized at that summit, meaning an official application for EU membership. However, I have no such information, and I do not think such a risky step will be taken ahead of elections in Armenia. In any case, the summit is another step that brings the EU’s highest leadership to Armenia,” she said.

Tatikyan also suggested that the European Union could become more involved in Armenia–Azerbaijan dialogue.

“It could relate to the unblocking of communications, Armenia’s participation in the Middle Corridor, and other infrastructure projects,” Tatikyan concluded.