July 4, 2026
5 political forces issued a statement, which specifically states: “Today, the Constitutional Court published the decision regarding the lawsuits disputing the results of the last parliamentary elections.
This decision of the Constitutional Court:
• does not solve the issue of the legitimacy of the emerging government. the government formed under such conditions and with recorded results lacks legitimacy.
• does not correct the election frauds and does not eliminate mass election violations and does not solve the deep political and legal crisis in the country.
On the contrary, direct refusal to register violations by the last legal instance deepens the current crisis in the country, does not contribute to the formation of an atmosphere of domestic solidarity and moves the struggle to the field of political resistance. Therefore, in order to overcome the existing political crisis and restore the constitutional order, the undersigned political forces declare consensus on the following principle directions and form a unified political agenda:
1. Prevention of forced changes to the Constitution of Armenia. Considering the constitutional amendments being prepared by the current administration as external coercion, we will use all legislative, public and political means to prevent the amendment of the Mother Law, which is a direct and irreversible blow to the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.
2. Protection of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. Considering the systematic illegal campaign against the Church, the Catholicos of All Armenians, the cornerstone of our political agenda will be the protection of the exclusive mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its rights, property and reputation from any encroachments guaranteed by Article 18 of the Constitution.
3. Protection of the rights of political prisoners. A new wave of political repressions has started in the post-election period. Along with the electoral and political processes, the repressive practice in the country led to a sharp increase in the number of political prisoners. Our joint steps will be aimed at protecting their rights and demanding their immediate release.
4. Removal of the current government. The examination of the complaints of the opposition forces in the Constitutional Court only proved that the removal of the current regime is an imperative without an alternative. Therefore, the change of power and the formation of a new quality national government remains the only prerequisite for the restoration of constitutional order, establishment of solidarity and security in the country.
We realize that in the conditions of the disintegration of legal institutions, the citizen of the Republic of Armenia remains the only guarantor of the preservation of the state and the constitutional order.
Therefore, dear citizens,
This decision of the Constitutional Court is not the end of the struggle, but the beginning of a new, more systematic, institutional and large-scale political resistance phase.
The discussions between the opposition political forces on what to do on the above-mentioned points are continuing. We will inform you about further steps resulting from the discussions, including possible joint projects, in the near future.
Alliance of “Strong Armenia” parties
Alliance of “Armenia” parties
“Prosperous Armenia” party
“Armenian National Congress” party
Pan-Armenian Party “National-Democratic Pole”.
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Iranian messages to Yerevan. Is Tehran waiting for a strategic clarification?
July 4, 2026
Nikol Pashinyan, who went to Iran to participate in the official farewell ceremony of the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, had a meeting with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to the message of the RA government, Pashinyan once again expressed his condolences on the death of the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, emphasizing that Armenia shares the grief of the people of Iran.
President Pezeshkian thanked and noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran highly appreciates the position adopted by the Government of Armenia and the humanitarian support it has shown towards Iran in a difficult situation.
“The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on his victory in the parliamentary elections and expressed confidence that bilateral relations will continue to develop and strengthen consistently. The parties also exchanged ideas on issues of regional importance, emphasizing the implementation of consistent steps aimed at strengthening peace, stability and regional cooperation,” the RA government’s message said.
It is noteworthy that the message spread by the Iranian side and the key emphasis in President Pezeshkian’s speech were absent from the RA government’s message. Iranian Mehr agency presented the message from the Iranian side, noting that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked Armenia for its support and expressed solidarity for the country in a difficult period, stressing that the strengthening of relations between Tehran and Yerevan is in the interests of both sides.
According to this report, the president of Iran characterized the relations between Tehran and Yerevan as based on mutual respect, neighborliness and common interests, noting that the countries are constantly expanding constructive cooperation in various fields.
“He also thanked Armenia for its cooperation during the last conflict and expressed hope for the quick conclusion of the negotiations on the bilateral comprehensive cooperation agreement. According to Pezeshkian, this document can open new opportunities for interaction and at the same time strengthen cooperation in the fields of customs, transport, transit, trade and economic relations.
The President of Iran stressed that the relations between Tehran and Yerevan should be free from external interference and should be determined exclusively by the independent will of both countries. He also noted that the presence of forces outside the region often complicates regional problems, rather than contributing to their solution.
Reaffirming the principles of Iran’s foreign policy, Pezeshkian stressed respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states and emphasized Tehran’s commitment to diplomatic settlement of disputes. He also stated that, in his opinion, the main source of instability in West Asia is the Israeli regime, referring to the events that took place in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and Iran,” said the message from the Iranian side.
Pashinyan’s words were also quoted in the statement. Let’s remind that back in January, Iran’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Khalil Shirgholami said that an agreement on strategic partnership is being prepared. He expressed hope that it will be signed during this year, during a meeting of high-ranking officials.
Pezeshkian’s statement that “relations should be free from external interference and determined exclusively by the independent will of both countries” is not an accidental diplomatic expression. This is similar to another statement made by high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the previous period: “the presence of third forces in the region is unacceptable.” Official Tehran did this at the stage when the EU civil observation mission started its activities in RA.
In the Iranian political vocabulary, the concept of “external forces” has a clear addressee. First of all, we are talking about the military-political involvement of the United States, the European Union, NATO’s influence, as well as Israel’s regional presence. This time, Tehran is trying to convey to Yerevan that the Armenian-Iranian agenda should not turn into a platform where third parties can influence the strategic communication of the two countries. This emphasis is heard in the background, when Armenia activates cooperation with the European Union and the United States day by day.
For Iran, the problem is not the fact of cooperation between Armenia and the West. For Iran, it remains a red line that such an architecture should not be formed in the South Caucasus, through which the Western or Israeli influence can directly approach the northern borders of Iran. For that reason, Pezeshkian’s statement should be considered not only as an assessment of Armenian-Iranian relations, but also as another political message of Iran regarding regional security.
It is also noteworthy that in the Iranian message, the topic of foreign intervention follows the section on the comprehensive cooperation agreement. It is obvious that the Iranian side is interested in the process, which was the first to speak publicly about this agreement, and now officially the Iranian side continues the topic. In the context of current Armenia-US, Armenia-EU relations, it is difficult to say when Yerevan will sign such an agreement with Tehran.
However, in the context of current regional realities, the topic of strategic partnership or comprehensive cooperation agreement also becomes important. If the document is signed, it can become not only a legal basis for economic cooperation, but also a political impulse that Armenia is not going to revise its fundamental approaches to Iran, even in the conditions of new foreign policy priorities.
For Tehran, such a document will also be an indicator of confidence that Yerevan continues to consider Iran as a key regional partner. At this stage, this agreement seems to become an important cornerstone in Armenian-Iranian relations, on which the Iranian side will expect progress. There was another remarkable emphasis in Pezeshkian’s statements: the reaffirmation of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. This wording directly coincides with Iran’s long-standing position, according to which the change of borders in the South Caucasus or the implementation of projects with an extraterritorial logic are unacceptable. Therefore, Tehran actually reaffirms that it continues to consider the issue of territorial integrity of Armenia not only as a component of bilateral relations, but also as part of its own national security system.
All this proves that the Pashinyan-Pezeshkian meeting had a much broader political content than the current meeting. If the Armenian side mainly emphasized sympathy, peace and the general development of bilateral relations, the Iranian message actually included the outline of Iran’s red lines and political expectations. In that sense, the difference between the two messages was political. Yerevan presented its agenda in the message without presenting Tehran’s red lines and positions, while Tehran deliberately emphasized its geopolitical priorities and red lines.
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Yerevan-Ankara. “water” partnership is gaining momentum
July 4, 2026
The session of the Armenian-Turkish commission for the joint use of Akhuryan and Araks rivers was held for the first time in the last 10 years at the end of May in Yerevan, the Water Committee of Armenia reported, without providing any details.
It is noted that the meeting of the representatives of the permanent border water resource management committees “Operation of Sardarapat Regulator” and “Operation of Akhuryan Reservoir” took place first at the border of the two countries (Akhuryan), then continued in the administrative building of “Jrar” CJSC (Yerevan).
Director of “Jrar” Tigran Vardanyan briefly noted that the signed documents “were drawn up on mutually beneficial terms”. It is reported that some important agreements have been reached. Although the details are not published, according to unofficial information, firstly, the Armenian side was allowed until this year. to carry out 12% more water intake including August. Secondly, the parties have agreed to take joint measures to prevent flooding in Akhuryan (including work-related reservoirs) and Araks, increase water supply during dry periods, and joint reproduction of fish resources. S. year by the end of the third quarter, it is planned to coordinate the ecological complex monitoring program of transboundary water bodies.
The length of the Akhuryan River is 186 km, about 2/3 of which passes through the Armenian-Turkish border. The major tributaries of Akhuryan are (from both sides) East Turkish Kars (the largest), Karakhan, Kars, Charyun, Ani, Tekor and Karangum.
The total area of the water catchment area is 9670 sq km (almost identical to the area of Cyprus). Karnut (small) and Akhuryan reservoirs are built on the river, which are mainly used for agro-improvement/irrigation.: Near Gyumri, on Akhuryan, there is the medium-capacity Gyumri HPP, built in the late 1920s, which is one of the oldest in Armenia.
1973 The USSR and Turkish governments have signed an indefinite-term agreement “On the construction and cooperation of a dam and a reservoir on the Akhuryan border river”. Accordingly, Armenia, according to additional documents of this agreement of 1973-1975, has the right to use half of the flow volume of two transboundary rivers, Araks and Akhuryan, which additionally increases the balance of water resources of the republic by 0.945 cubic kilometers per year.
The parity principle of water use in this basin (as between the Georgian SSR, the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, and Turkey on the other) was first established by the 1927 Soviet-Turkish Convention on “Water Use in Boundary Rivers”, which is also not limited by the period of validity.
The Akhuryan Reservoir, located in the northwest of the Armenian SSR, on the border with Turkey, was built by both countries in 1974-1982 and put into operation in 1982-83. 62.5% of its surface is located in the territory of Turkey (Yerevan proposed to create 55-58.5% of the reservoir area in the Armenian SSR, but this option was not implemented). The average seasonal capacity of the reservoir is approximately 521.5-525 million cubic meters, which often reaches 545-550 million cubic meters during periods of excess water.
These water resources are allocated for use on a strictly equitable basis, 50%/50% for agricultural irrigation and land reclamation on both sides (with minimal deviations due to uneven reservoir filling). A maximum of 13-14.5% (usually 10-11%) of the total water supply is used for local municipal and domestic needs. Akhuryan dam is 45 meters high.
Cooperation between Ankara and Yerevan on the mentioned issue has been saved also after 1991, in the absence of diplomatic relations, although the frequency of joint water economic commission meetings remained low until approximately the second half of the 2010s. At the end of 2017, the head of the Water Committee of Armenia, Arsen Harutyunyan, noted: “…Except for the Araks River, Armenians and Turks jointly clean the bed of the Akhuryan River. Most often, Armenian-Turkish working meetings (within the framework of the Water Economic Commission) are held on the banks of the Akhuryan Reservoir.
If it is dry season, we meet more often. We discuss, regulate the water intake, coordinate the work. decisions are always taken exclusively on the basis of consensus. In 2017, more than 10 such meetings were held. The issues are raised more often by the Armenian side, because the issue of agricultural irrigation is more acute on the Armenian side of the border. As for the Turks, they are generally willing to make concessions.”
In recent years, practical interaction has been an additional incentive get, which is quite logical in the context of the diversification of the foreign policy course of the republic, emphasizing the dialogue with the Turkic neighbors.
Alexey Baliev
vpoanalytics.com
Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan
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168: They have a compromise regarding Pashinyan. Ursula von der Leyen shut him down
July 4, 2026
168TVof “Trigger” the guest of the program Davit Jamalyan is a military expert.
During the program, the key issues of the regional and international agenda were considered in detail, as well as their impact on Armenia’s security and foreign political position.
The upcoming negotiations between the USA and Iran scheduled for July 18, as well as the possible consequences of their results for the Middle East and the South Caucasus, have become one of the central topics.
Special attention was paid to the discussion of Israel’s decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide and its political significance in modern international relations.
The expert also analyzed the visit of President Ursula von der Leyen to the region. His trips to Baku and Yerevan, as well as the interests and policies of the European Union in the South Caucasus, appeared in the center of the discussion.
Within the framework of the program, the internal political processes of Armenia, the Armenian-Russian relations and the possible scenarios of the future development of the situation in the region were considered.
The visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Moscow, the role of Russia and Turkey in the South Caucasus, as well as the meeting of the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev and the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan became a separate topic.
At the end of the program, the main challenges and prospects facing Armenia in the rapidly changing geopolitical situation were discussed.
Hayk Derzyan
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RFE/RL – Armenia’s Constitutional Court Upholds Election Results
- Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia’s Constitutional Court on Saturday rejected opposition demands to annul the official results of last month’s parliamentary elections that gave victory to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party.
In separate appeals, six Armenian opposition groups rejected the results as fraudulent. In particular, they accused election officials of miscounting many ballots and claimed that the Armenian authorities forced many public sector employees and security personnel to vote for Civil Contract. They also pointed to mass arrests of their members and supporters, which continued on election day.
The official election runner-up, the Strong Armenia alliance led by billionaire Samvel Karapetian, suggested that the Constitutional Court alternatively order a run-off vote between it and Civil Contract. The court rejected this as well. It did not immediately publicize the full text of the ruling presumably containing arguments in favor of upholding the official results.
Pashinian and his political allies deny the fraud allegations. They say that Strong Armenia and two other major opposition contenders themselves secured hundreds of thousands of votes through illegal vote bribes.
“Justice has won,” Justice Minister Srbuhi Galian, who represented Civil Contract in the court, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, commenting on the ruling.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), Pashinian’s party won the June 7 elections with 49.8 percent of the vote. Strong Armenia came in second with 23.3 percent, followed by former President Robert Kocharian’s Hayastan alliance (almost 10 percent) and Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) (almost 4 percent).
The BHK fell just short of a legal threshold for entering the Armenian parliament after the CEC cancelled results in three precincts and refused to rerun elections there. This and other opposition contenders portrayed the controversial decision as further proof that the vote was rigged in the ruling party’s favor.
Aram Orbelian, a lawyer representing the BHK, said that the court should have at least given Tsarukian’s party five seats in Armenia’s 105-member parliament.
“Everyone saw, unfortunately, that the Constitutional Court participated in or at least did not stop the vote theft,” Orbelian told reporters after the announcement of the court’s decision.
Aram Vartevanian, a senior Strong Armenia representative, likewise charged that the ruling demonstrated the absence of “constitutional justice” in the country.
The CEC awarded most of the parliament seats claimed by the BHK to Civil Contract. This enabled the ruling party to have a 60 percent parliamentary majority required for enacting key laws and installing senior law-enforcement officials and judges.
Vahagn Hovakimian, a longtime Pashinian collaborator heading the CEC, insisted during court hearings on the opposition appeals that the decision not to hold a repeat election in the three precincts did not have an impact on the BHK’s overall performance.
Strong Armenia, Hayastan and the BHK first cried foul after Pashinian claimed a “historic victory” early on June 8 when less than one-fifth of the ballots cast were counted by election officials. Pashinian and his loyalists deny that his statement predetermined the vote results.
Opposition leaders were always skeptical about the success of their appeals, arguing that eight of the court’s nine judges have been installed by Pashinian’s party. The court excluded two of those judges, both of them former pro-government politicians, from the consideration of the appeals, citing their “prejudicial attitude” towards the opposition. It ignored opposition demands to also recuse another judge, who ran in the 2021 elections on the ticket of a pro-government bloc.
Many supporters of Hayastan and Strong Armenia want them to refuse to take up their parliament seat in order to further undermine the parliament’s legitimacy. The leaders of both blocs seem to be leaning against the boycott. They have also resisted so far calls to challenge the election results in the streets.
Karapetian proposed last month that the country’s leading opposition forces set up a “coordinating council” that would discuss and take joint actions against the Armenian government. The Strong Armenia leader said on Tuesday that he expects to meet with other top leaders and finalize such an arrangement after the Constitutional Court ruling.
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Israeli gov’t recognition of Armenian Genocide fulfills ‘moral duty,’ senior b
“It means a lot for the State of Israel, for the Jewish people,” Baghdasaryan said. “It was really the moral duty for the State of Israel to recognize the Armenian genocide.”
The Israeli government has “fulfilled its moral duty” in recognizing the Armenian Genocide, a move that is appreciated by the Armenian community both in Israel and abroad, Bishop Koryun Baghdasaryan told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Baghdasaryan is a senior leader and dean of the manor of Jerusalem’s Armenian Patriarchate. His comments came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government voted on Sunday in favor of Israel’s recognition of the World War I-era killings of Armenians as a genocide.
Speaking to the Post, the bishop pointed to the recognition as the completion of an Israeli onus to do so due to the Jewish people’s history of undergoing a genocide at the hands of Nazi Germany.
“It means a lot for the State of Israel, for the Jewish people,” he said, “because as a nation that went through the Holocaust, and right after the Holocaust established the State of Israel, it was really the moral duty for the State of Israel to recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
Following the government’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the proposal is set to go before the Knesset plenum for a vote. There, Baghdasaryan said he expects it will get overwhelming support.
Israel may become 32nd UN member to recognize the Armenian Genocide
Should the Knesset vote in favor of the proposal, Israel will become the 32nd UN member state to officially recognize the killings, which resulted in the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenians, as a genocide.
The UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide refers to “genocide” as acts committed with “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, as such.”
The term itself was coined by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin as a way to describe such mass killings and was specifically influenced by the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide.
“For me personally, as a grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors, it means a lot, because we, the Armenians, will always remember. Remember and demand,” Baghdasaryan said.
“We remember that one and a half million Armenians were massacred during the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire, and we demand justice. We demand international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and, of course, we demand a condemnation of this horrible massacre.”
Baghdasaryan went on to add that it was particularly important that Turkey, which he called the “legal heir” of the Ottoman Empire, which perpetrated the genocide, take responsibility for it in the same way that Germany recognizes and takes responsibility for the Holocaust.
“The most important country or state that has to recognize the Armenian Genocide is Turkey,” he said.
“Turkey not only does not recognize the Armenian Genocide but denies the Armenian Genocide. We hope that all the recognition of these influential countries, at the end of the day, will have a positive impact on Turkey to face its history.”
For now, though, the bishop said that Armenians, in Armenia, Israel, or elsewhere, are pleased to hear that any country recognizes the genocide. Israel’s recognition, in particular, he predicted, will have a “unique role” in advancing toward international recognition.
The government’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide was not met with universal celebration. Azerbaijan, one of Israel’s closest partners in the Muslim world, subsequently issued a statement decrying the move, calling it “unacceptable,” a “matter of serious concern” and a “distortion of the historical facts.”
“The reaction of Azerbaijan was expected,” Baghdasaryan said, calling the country a “little brother” of Turkey and expressing his hope that it would not influence the Knesset against voting in favor of recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Senior Armenian bishop: We hope this recognition will contribute to bettering Israel-Armenia relations
Asked if he believed that such recognition would form the basis for deepening relations between Israel and Armenia, the bishop said that good relations and cooperation were the “expectation” in “all fields.”
“We hope that this recognition will contribute positively to the betterment of these relations,” he said. “It will be for the benefit of both the Armenian nation and the Israeli nation, and also for the Armenian community in Israel and the Jewish community in Armenia.”
Regarding Israel’s responsibility in this relationship, he said that he would like to see education about the Armenian Genocide in the Israeli educational curriculum and added that he hoped the recognition would advance that goal.
Already, though, Baghdasaryan said he has seen a strong reaction in celebration of the government’s move.
“I got more than 100 messages, emails, WhatsApps,” he said. “Everyone is congratulating and, of course, saying that they feel very upset that [the recognition] was very late but that they’re very happy.”
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Erdoğan rejects Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition, points to Gaza deaths
Israel and Turkey’s deteriorating relationship hits another low point.
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Erdogan rejects Israel’s Armenian Genocide recognition, blasts ‘murder network
Turkish President fiercely rejects Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, calling it a slanderous attempt to mask its actions in Gaza.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a fierce denunciation of Israel on Tuesday following a unanimous vote by the Israeli Cabinet to formally acknowledge the Ottoman-era Armenian massacres as genocide.
The legislative move and the ensuing diplomatic clash mark the latest breakdown in bilateral ties, which have deteriorated drastically amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
Speaking directly after a cabinet session, Erdogan rejected the historical designation and forcefully turned the focus toward current events in the Middle East.
“We do not give the slightest heed to the slanders about our country from the murder network that has the blood of 73,000 innocent Gazans, most of them children and women, on its hands,” Erdogan said, as quoted by Politico.
“In our history there is no genocide, no massacre, no oppression, and no colonialism,” he claimed.
The Turkish president has repeatedly accused the Israeli military of executing a genocide within the Gaza Strip.
His remarks echo statements from Turkey’s Vice President, Cevdet Yılmaz, who recently dismissed Israel’s historic vote as a “transparent bid to obscure their own contemporary misconduct.”
During his Tuesday press conference, Erdogan asserted that Israel’s moral authority to pass judgment on Turkey is completely erased by its military campaign in Gaza. He contrasted Israel’s recent actions with Turkey’s historical legacy of providing a safe haven to Jewish refugees escaping Europe during World War II.
“There is the virtue of protecting those who fled from … Nazi persecution,” Erdogan claimed. “Those who slander Turkey and the Turkish nation … know this best, if they look at their own history.”
Erdogan’s criticism follows that of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which reacted with intense fury toward Jerusalem after the Israeli Cabinet vote.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry fired back with a stinging public rebuke, claiming that the vote was orchestrated to distract the international community from Israel’s active military operations in the Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli government, which has systematically persecuted the Palestinian people before the eyes of the entire world and is being tried at the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide against the people of Gaza, is seeking to cover up its own crimes through the political decision it has adopted regarding the events of 1915,” the Ministry said, as quoted by AFP.
“Turkey will continue to work resolutely to bring an end to Israel’s expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region,” the statement added.
Turkey — the Ottoman Empire’s successor state — strongly rejects that the massacres, imprisonment and forced deportation of Armenians from 1915 amounted to a genocide.
Last August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide for the first time. Turkey responded with anger, rejecting his remarks as politically motivated and historically unfounded.
The Cabinet’s Sunday’s decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide came amid ongoing tensions with Turkey. The two countries were close to reconciliation just before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, but since that time, Turkish officials, and foremost Erdogan, have repeatedly criticized Israel.
In March of last year, Erdogan blasted Israel and described it as a “terror state” after it launched surprise strikes on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.
Several months later, the Turkish President claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government represents the most significant threat to Middle East security.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/429455
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Von der Leyen visits Azerbaijan and Armenia to deepen South Caucasus ties
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen begins the first visit to the South Caucasus since Armenia and Azerbaijan signed their historic peace agreement, now offering the EU the opportunities to build on the EU’s strategic engagement with the region formerly in Russia’s orbit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is embarking on a strategic visit to the South Caucasus this week to build on the EU’s engagement in the historic peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the opportunities ahead.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen begins the first visit to the South Caucasus since Armenia and Azerbaijan signed their historic peace agreement, now offering the EU the opportunities to build on the EU’s strategic engagement with the region formerly in Russia’s orbit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is embarking on a strategic visit to the South Caucasus this week to build on the EU’s engagement in the historic peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the opportunities ahead.
Energy and infrastructure on the agenda in Baku
This will be von der Leyen’s first visit to Baku since 2022, when the EU and Azerbaijan signed their strategic energy partnership to expand cooperation on natural gas supplies through the Southern Gas Corridor, as the European Union sought to urgently find alternatives to its energy imports following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Von der Leyen’s talks with Aliyev are therefore expected to focus on Azerbaijan expanding its energy supplies to Europe as the main pillar of EU-Azerbaijan relations, as well as cooperation on key regional infrastructure projects that are now crucial for the EU economies.
This is also the first visit since Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to make peace after decades of war over Karabakh, in a region formerly in Moscow’s orbit.
The visit continues the strategic EU political dialogue with the region, following European Council President Antonio Costa’s talks with Aliyev in Azerbaijan’s capital back in March, when Costa said that Brussels and Baku were now working on a new framework for closer cooperation on defence, security, and digital developments intended to widen relations beyond the existing energy and key infrastructure links.
A total of 16 European countries currently receive Azerbaijani gas, with 10 EU member states among the recipients, and Italy is the top EU importer of Azerbaijani energy, as underscored by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to Baku in May.
Strategic alternative route
Connectivity is now another key area for EU-Azerbaijan cooperation, with the Middle Corridor emerging as a strategic transit route between Asia and Europe and a strong Eurasian alternative amid global supply chain disruptions in the Middle East.
The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), is a transport network connecting China and Southeast Asia through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia and onwards to Turkey and Europe.
Envisioned as a modern version of the ancient Silk Road, it is a strategic opportunity for new, alternative transport connections between Europe and Asia through the South Caucasus, as a network of different roadways, railroads and maritime routes that connects China with the ports of the Black Sea.
It starts on the eastern Chinese coast, at the port of Lianyungang, runs through China, with the main hub in the city of Xi’an, and then enters Kazakhstan, from where it branches towards Uzbekistan to the South and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Then it turns maritime, connecting to ports in Azerbaijan and Georgia before ending at hubs in Romania, Hungary and Poland.
Under the current geopolitical circumstances, it is a vital transit route for goods transport between China and Europe. The Middle Corridor is also about 3,000 kilometres shorter than the Northern Corridor through Russia.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, who will join Von der Leyen on both visits, launched the EU’s new Connectivity Agenda Platform last week, through which the EU will participate in the Middle Corridor projects.
Kos outlined the new EU connectivity project, saying it was critical for Europe to make its trade routes and energy more secure, while avoiding the now-unreliable traditional routes.
“Take a look at the plane map before and after the start of the recent war in Iran. Almost all planes started passing through the Caucasus. It’s through here, the Middle Corridor, that we can secure our trade, energy and digital links,” Kos said, explaining that the Middle Corridor connects Europe and Asia through Turkey and the South Caucasus.
The European Commissioner for Enlargement said that “this is the priority for the European Commission, securing our trade, energy and digital links via routes we can trust,” setting the stage for the EU leadership’s visit to Baku.
A representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the United Nations Office at Geneva and Azerbaijani political analyst Toghrul Mammadli told Euronews that the European Union remains Azerbaijan’s largest trading partner, accounting for approximately 43% of the country’s total foreign trade. ^
“Energy continues to be the cornerstone of this partnership. In 2025, Azerbaijan exported 12.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Europe, representing more than half of its total gas exports, while also supplying around 8% of the EU’s pipeline gas imports. These figures demonstrate Azerbaijan’s growing role as a reliable contributor to Europe’s energy security,” he said.
“I believe President von der Leyen’s visit will further strengthen mutual trust and provide fresh momentum for a pragmatic, forward-looking partnership that serves the long-term interests of both Azerbaijan and the European Union,” Mammadli told Euronews ahead of the visit.
The new initiatives are now possible after Azerbaijan and Armenia signed their historic peace agreement after almost four decades of a tragic conflict, and are now fully engaged in forging a common economic future for their nations and the region.
The Commission president’s visit to both countries carries not just a political message but also the symbolism of the EU now engaging with them within a peace framework, rather than confrontation, for joint economic projects ahead.
EU support for Armenia amid Russian pressure
Von der Leyen will travel to Yerevan for talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as the EU has just rolled out a support package for Armenia to address what the EC called “Russian economic coercion,” and to further develop the strategic EU-Armenia relations after Pashinyan secured a decisive pro-West mandate in the recent elections.
“This will be the President’s second visit to Yerevan in two months, following her visit for the European Political Community and the first-ever EU-Armenian summit in May,” the European Commission said in a statement.
The European Commission endorsed Pashinyan just days before the crucial elections on 7 June and announced a support package to counter the Russian onslaught of sanctions following Yerevan’s cautious pro-Western, pro-EU turn.
Pashinyan carefully balanced Armenia’s approach to Russia in the last days of the election campaign, stating that Armenia’s EU membership bid was “theoretical” at this time.
The EC announced at the time a support package of financial assistance and practical measures to support Armenian agri-food trade after Moscow unleashed an economic onslaught, restricting imports of various Armenian fruits, vegetables, flowers, and fish products, as well as wine, brandy and mineral water, while also threatening to cut critical Russian oil and gas supplies to Armenia.
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Armenian Parliamentary speaker Simonyan leaves office after losing ruling part
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