Alliances still important, but focus must be on own capabilities, says Armenia

Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan has said that global geopolitics is changing, with countries increasingly focusing on strengthening their own defense capabilities, although alliances remain important.

“I would not say that alliances do not work. Alliances are still important, but it is also important to focus on one’s own capabilities,” Grigoryan said at the Yerevan Dialogue 2026, emphasizing the importance of national capabilities and partnerships in addressing the challenges facing states today.

He spoke at the “Europe Between New Forms of Power and Dominance: Geopolitical Agency in a Fragmenting World” panel discussion.

He noted that in recent years Armenia has placed great emphasis on diversification in order to have as many alternatives as possible, since monopolies in geopolitics also pose challenges.

“There must always be alternatives. This is the main message of the modern world,” the Security Council Secretary said.

In this context, in what appeared to be a reference to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Grigoryan pointed to an interesting reality—how $110 trillion of global GDP can depend on a single strait, which could call into question the entire concept of energy security, forcing its reassessment and the search for alternatives.

Grigoryan said that, given the current geopolitical situation, international relations, and the challenges facing states, it is difficult to predict anything. Nevertheless, he stressed that the most important factor for Armenia is having sufficient state capacity to address these challenges.