Category: News

Chancellor of Austria Christian Stocker has congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his electoral victory, after preliminary vote count results showed that the Civil Contract party will retain its majority with 727,160 votes, or 49.825%.

“Warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his electoral victory. The people of the Republic of Armenia have reaffirmed their commitment to the democratic path and to strengthening the country’s resilience, sovereignty, and prosperity. Austria stands with Armenia on its path towards peace, regional stability, and even closer ties with the European Union,” the Austrian chancellor said on X.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola has congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after his party was named the winner in the parliamentary elections following preliminary vote count results.

“Congratulations Nikol Pashinyan on the victory in Armenia’s national elections. Let us continue building on this renewed momentum to strengthen EU-Armenia relations,” Metsola said on X.

The results from all 2,005 polling stations have been tallied, with a turnout of 1,477,736 voters (nearly 59 percent).

The votes received by the four leading political forces are as follows:

Civil Contract Party – 727,160 votes, or 49.825%

Strong Armenia Alliance – 340,088 votes, or 23.281%

Armenia Alliance – 145,113 votes, or 9.934%

Prosperous Armenia Party – 58,378 votes, or 3.996%

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said that the normalization process with Türkiye continues and that new progress could be achieved soon. He made the remarks at a joint committee hearing in parliament on the Pashinyan administration’s 2025 budget performance report.

“Our dialogue with Türkiye has continued; meetings of the working group established for the reopening of the Gyumri–Kars railway have taken place, as well as several other meetings,” Mirzoyan told lawmakers.

He added that tangible results in the normalization process may be possible in the near future.

“My expectation and belief is that in the very near future, at some stage, we will have tangible progress in terms of the full normalization of our relations with Türkiye,” the minister noted.

Mirzoyan also expressed confidence that the normalization process will reach its logical conclusion.

“I want to express confidence that in the near future we will, in fact, have full normalization,” he stated.

The Foreign Minister also highlighted that direct trade between the two countries already exists.

“Let me mention only the latest development. Although it does not relate to the reporting period, we now have direct trade between Armenia and Türkiye—direct in a customs sense, geographically, although it still takes place through third countries,” Mirzoyan said.

Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is reportedly personally negotiating a contract extension with the Nerazzurri, according to Italian media.

The reports come after Sky Sport reported that the former captain and all-time top goalscorer of the Armenian national football team has reportedly agreed to remain at Inter Milan for one more season, with the deal including a pay cut. According to Sky Sport, Inter Milan head coach Cristian Chivu convinced Mkhitaryan to stay. 

The new report says Mkhitaryan is personally engaged in talks over the new contract, without intermediaries. 

The Prosperous Armenia Party has announced that it will request the Central Electoral Commission to conduct a recount of the parliamentary election votes.

Iveta Tonoyan, the party’s spokesperson, said in a statement on social media that their party’s vote counts were allegedly decreasing with each real-time update issued by the electoral commission during the preliminary vote count.

She alleged that electoral violations have taken place on a “massive scale.”

“At this moment, the campaign headquarters of the Prosperous Armenia Party announces that it will request a recount, use all legal tools, and pursue the uncovering of electoral violations. The polling stations requiring a recount are currently being finalized, and the grounds for appealing certain decisions and actions are being discussed. Moreover, this does not preclude the possibility of disputing the election results, given the massive scale of violations witnessed throughout the entire electoral process,” Tonoyan said.

Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, Vahagn Hovakimyan, earlier announced the updated preliminary results of the vote count in the June 7 parliamentary elections held in Armenia.

The results from all 2,005 polling stations have been tallied, with a turnout of 1,477,736 (nearly 59 percent).

The votes received by the four leading political forces are as follows:

Civil Contract Party – 727,160 votes, or 49.825%

Strong Armenia Alliance – 340,088 votes, or 23.281%

Armenia Alliance – 145,113 votes, or 9.934%

Prosperous Armenia Party – 58,378 votes, or 3.996%

Earlier results released by the electoral commission showed Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia having garnered exactly 4%, the minimum threshold required to enter parliament. However, the updated data now shows Prosperous Armenia falling below the threshold. Hovakimyan emphasized that these figures are preliminary and that a phase of verification and recounting is still ahead.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has described the recent meeting between Armenian and Turkish businessmen as an important step toward economic cooperation that could also contribute to political processes.

“On June 2, a very important meeting took place in Kars between Armenian and Turkish businesspeople,” he told members of parliament at a joint committee hearing on the Pashinyan administration’s 2025 budget performance report.

He said the meeting was organized by the foreign ministries of Armenia and Türkiye, as well as the chambers of commerce of both countries.

The minister noted that the meeting significantly differed from previous business contacts.

“This meeting was significantly different from any previous business interactions, because it had a very full agenda and also generated great interest among business circles in three eastern and northeastern provinces of Türkiye,” Mirzoyan said.

In his assessment, this is a good start for deepening Armenia–Türkiye economic cooperation.

Mirzoyan also said he expects a second such meeting to be held in Armenia in the near future.

“I expect that within a reasonable timeframe, we will have a second meeting on the territory of the Republic of Armenia,” the minister said.

“I am aware that concrete talks have already started between business circles and individual companies, and I am confident that we will see the continuation of these talks, their materialization, and tangible results,” Mirzoyan added.

The Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the process will continue and lead not only to economic but also to positive political outcomes.

“A process has started which, I dare to express confidence, will not stop in general and will bring not only good economic results, but will also bring positive political outcomes in its wake,” Mirzoyan said.

Democratic elections are now established in Armenia as an institution, and the era of rigged elections and authoritarian rule is long over, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, a senior member of the Civil Contract party, has said.

“There have been free, fair, and transparent elections, elections that meet the highest international standards, as confirmed by the preliminary reactions of various observer organizations and relevant bodies, as well as the leaders of individual countries,” Mirzoyan told reporters on Monday after the preliminary vote count showed that Civil Contract will retain a majority in parliament with 727,160 votes, or 49.825%.

According to the Foreign Minister, the election results further affirm the consolidation of democratic processes in Armenia.

“I also want to say that the chapter of democratic elections is now firmly established in Armenia, meaning that the era of rigged elections, pseudo-democracy, or authoritarianism in the Republic of Armenia is closed,” Mirzoyan added.

He also expressed gratitude to citizens for their trust in the Civil Contract party.

“I also want to thank the citizens of the Republic of Armenia for entrusting the governance of the country to the Civil Contract party for the third consecutive time,” the minister said.

“For the third consecutive time, the Civil Contract party has the opportunity and will form a government by itself, and, as in the past, it will continue to serve the interests of the Republic of Armenia, the interests of its citizens, and fulfill its promises,” he said.

The minister emphasized that the vote of confidence carries obligations for the government.

“We are grateful for this vote and for the responsibility it entails, and we will continue to serve the Republic of Armenia,” Mirzoyan concluded.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Monday that the opening of the EU market for Armenian agricultural goods reflects EU support for Armenia and is the result of a political decision.

“Yes, of course this is a political decision,” Mirzoyan told lawmakers at a parliamentary committee hearing when asked whether the move was a political decision.

Mirzoyan said there is a clear willingness on the part of the European Union and its member states to support Armenia’s economic and democratic resilience.

“We see readiness at the highest level from our European Union partners to support the Republic of Armenia’s economic and political resilience, to ensure economic diversity and diversification, which we constantly talk about,” the minister said.

Concrete results are already visible, he added, with some Armenian agricultural products beginning to enter the European market.

“We had political agreements, we had political assurances. We had deliveries and sales of certain types of agricultural products on the European market. For example, flowers are the best example—in Latvia and elsewhere as well,” he noted.

The minister particularly highlighted the Netherlands’ announcement regarding its readiness to open its market to Armenian flowers.

“The Netherlands, which has a strong tradition in floriculture, announced yesterday that it is ready to open its market to flowers grown in Armenia. This is a very significant step,” Mirzoyan said.

According to the Foreign Minister, a political agreement already exists between Armenia and the European Union, and the sides are now moving to the stage of working out technical details.

“There is a general political understanding, a general political agreement between Armenia and the European Union. We are entering the phase of technical formulations—what specific products the European Union is ready to [open up],” he noted.

Mirzoyan expressed confidence that these agreements will soon be translated into practical results for various goods.

“The political agreement and the path are there,” the minister emphasized.

Russia banned a wide range of Armenian imports in recent weeks, prompting Armenian producers to look for new markets. Amid the growing Russian restrictions, the EU announced support programs and opened its market.

Last year, the Republic of Armenia allocated 1.975 billion drams for membership fees to international organizations.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan briefed lawmakers on the matter during a joint committee hearing on the government’s 2025 budget report.

He noted that Armenia pays membership fees to 113 international organizations, programs, and conventions.

“In 2025, in fact, payments were made to 101 organizations. In 2025, we did not pay a membership fee to the CSTO for our participation—simply because we did not participate in the activities of that organization,” Mirzoyan said. Armenia has frozen its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 2024 due to the bloc’s failure to fulfill its obligations.

Speaking about international cooperation platforms, the Foreign Minister specifically highlighted Armenia’s accession last year to the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, making Armenia the 125th contracting party to the Permanent Court of Arbitration. During the reporting period, Armenia was also, for the first time in its history, elected as a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the 2025–2029 term.

Additionally, at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Armenia was chosen as the next host country of the conference.

Among other new international cooperation developments last year, Mirzoyan highlighted Armenia’s participation in the establishment of the Board of Peace, an initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“These are also indicators of our activity in multilateral international relations, of our interests, and of the growing interest in us,” the Foreign Minister said.

The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) international election observation mission reported on Monday that it observed voting and counting processes that were generally calm and orderly, conducted in accordance with established procedures, and supported by a significant presence of party and citizen observers, contributing to civic oversight of the voting process.

IRI presented its findings and recommendations after observing the Armenian parliamentary elections. 

At the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Central Election Commission (CEC), IRI deployed a 23-person international delegation representing seven countries (United States, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden) to observe the electoral process. The mission was led by Mr. Peter Roskam, Board Chair of the National Endowment for Democracy; Mr. Peter Egardt, Chairman of the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation; and Mr. Olin Wethington, Board Member of the International Republican Institute, in collaboration with Mr. Scott Mastic, IRI Vice President of Programs, and Mr. Stephen Nix, IRI Senior Director for Europe and Eurasia.

Mastic told reporters on Monday that they observed the electoral process in eight provinces and 17 communities, with observers visiting 107 polling stations on election day.

“We once again reaffirm IRI’s strong commitment. The presence of our delegation also reflects this commitment, as well as the aspiration for elections in Armenia to be conducted in accordance with the country’s legal framework,” Mastic said.

Peter Roskam, Board Chair of the National Endowment for Democracy and former U.S. House of Representatives member, congratulated the people of Armenia, noting that nearly one and a half million citizens participated in the June 7 parliamentary elections, demonstrating their commitment to democratic participation and their will to shape the country’s future through voting.

“Our mission did not observe systemic violations. In our assessment, the voting and vote counting were overall conducted in a credible manner. The process took place in a disciplined and peaceful atmosphere, following established procedures. Representatives of political parties, local observers, and international observers like us were widely present throughout the process. The elections were held in an environment with rising polarization, concerns about security challenges, and debates regarding Armenia’s geopolitical orientation,” Roskam said.

He noted that the mission issued 11 recommendations regarding the organization and conduct of elections, political financing, cybersecurity, and the media sector.

According to him, authorities should strengthen accountability and reinforce cooperation between customs services, financial regulatory bodies, anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement, and electoral bodies to prevent potential funding related to external actors.

“The CEC must carry out its supervisory functions more consistently in examining and resolving election-related disputes. State bodies, electoral institutions, technical experts, civil society, and international partners should continue strengthening cybersecurity resilience through constant monitoring, testing, public communication, and incident response mechanisms,” he said.

Roskam also stated that the CEC, the Anti-Corruption Committee, and other competent authorities should investigate allegations of pressure, intimidation, misuse of administrative resources, and selective law enforcement swiftly, consistently, and impartially.

“It should be noted that deeper integration of Armenia into Western democratic institutions will contribute to aligning electoral processes with international standards,” he said.

In conclusion, Roskam stated that, according to the observation mission, the elections were fair.

Stephen Nix, IRI Senior Director for Europe and Eurasia, noted that signs of external interference were evident during this electoral cycle.

“Despite this, Armenia was able to exercise its democratic rights and demonstrated that the country’s democratic trajectory is oriented toward the European direction,” he emphasized.

Nix noted that during the electoral cycle, parties and alliances conducted their campaigns freely, although personal attacks in political rhetoric exacerbated the lack of trust among political actors.

He also praised the work of the Central Electoral Commission, territorial, and precinct election commissions, highlighting their professional conduct and role in ensuring the legality of the elections.

In summary, Nix said that these were IRI’s preliminary assessments. He added that the organization’s long-term observers and the Yerevan office staff will continue to monitor possible court proceedings and protests, with a more comprehensive final report to follow.