Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan praised on Wednesday the ongoing high-level political dialogue between Armenia and the European Union.

He made the remarks alongside European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Strasbourg, during a joint press conference.

“We periodically feel the need to return to the ‘House of Democracy’ to align the clock of our democratic reforms with that of the House of Democracy, to ensure that our reform process is proceeding on the right path, at the right pace and in the right direction. It is a great honor for us to have the support of the EU and the European Parliament on the path of democratic reforms,” said the Armenian Prime Minister.

According to Pashinyan, the most important development is that in 2025, Armenia adopted and enacted a law initiating the process for the country to join the EU, marking a historic new phase in Armenia–EU relations. The Prime Minister said this provides a new impetus for Armenia to continue advancing its democratic reforms.

Armenia and the EU have agreed on a new strategic agenda, elevating bilateral relations to a new level. The parties are currently actively negotiating on visa liberalization.

He also noted that during this period, Armenia has received support through the European Peace Facility, and the EU’s civilian monitoring mission continues to operate in the country.

“Overall, our high-level political dialogue continues at the executive, legislative, and civil society levels. I am also pleased to note that we have a substantial agenda for economic cooperation,” the Armenian Prime Minister said, expressing his gratitude to Metsola for the invitation.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during his address to the European Parliament on Wednesday in Strasbourg, spoke about the situation in Iran and across the Middle East.

Prime Minister Pashinyan said that Armenia feels deep sorrow witnessing what is happening in the region.

“Iran is our good friend and a neighbor for millennia. You have already seen the extent of our relations with the United States. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Syria are our valued partners. Recently, we have taken a historic step with Saudi Arabia by establishing diplomatic relations. We are deeply sorrowed by what is occurring in the Middle East. Amid such an international-scale crisis, we, as a small and modest state, can only pray for all those who lost their lives and for the wisdom of our partner leaders so that they may find diplomatic solutions as soon as possible,” Pashinyan said.

The U.S. and Israel launched what they described as a pre-emptive strike against Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon and posing a threat—an allegation Iran has denied. In response, Iran launched counterattacks, firing missiles and drones at Israel, as well as at U.S. assets and other targets across the Middle East. 

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that the recently established peace with Azerbaijan allows Armenia to expand its cooperation with the EU, including in infrastructure projects.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Strasbourg, ahead of his address to the European Parliament.

When asked about defense cooperation between Armenia and the EU, Pashinyan said that Armenia already maintains defense cooperation with individual EU member states.

“We have defense cooperation with France, and through the European Peace Facility, we have already received support from the European Union twice. Overall, we cooperate with the EU in a regional context, and the recently established peace with Azerbaijan provides us with an opportunity to expand our cooperation with the EU, including in infrastructure projects,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

PM Pashinyan emphasized that when people talk about security, it is often understood as weapons, ammunition, the military, special services, operational actions, and so on — a perception that Armenia has lived with for nearly 30 years.

“In Armenia, there is also much discussion about security guarantees. For me, it is now obvious that the only true guarantee of security is peace. There is no more reliable security guarantee than peace,” the Prime Minister said.

According to Pashinyan, the second layer of security guarantees is cooperation — including economic cooperation, interdependency, and mutual benefit.

“Of course, we have defense cooperation with the United States and several European countries, which we never had before. Nevertheless, understanding that the development of the military is very important, and that every sovereign country has not only the right but also the duty to ensure its security, our perception of security evolves over time — shifting from primarily military to more political and diplomatic,” Pashinyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister again stressed that the focus should be placed more on these aspects.

“Even within Armenia, when I speak on this topic, I say that the military, for us, is not a security tool but a reserve — in case, under any circumstances, the primary tools of peace I mentioned do not work,” concluded the Armenian Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reaffirmed that Armenia is ready to swiftly ensure a land connection through its territory for Azerbaijan to reach its Nakhchivan exclave, even before the launch of the TRIPP project, emphasizing that this will in no way delay the project’s implementation.

Speaking at the European Parliament plenary session, Pashinyan said that the Republic of Armenia is ready today, using existing infrastructure, to provide road connectivity between Azerbaijan’s western regions and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via the Kornidzor–Goris–Yeghegnadzor–Yeraskh route.

He added that this offer does not imply any delay to the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project.

“For the past eight months, full peace has been established along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. The year 2025 became, for the first time since our independence in 1991, a calendar year in which no casualties or injuries occurred as a result of Armenia–Azerbaijan shootings. For months now, residents of border communities have not heard gunfire.

Moreover, for the first time since independence, in November 2025, a train arrived in the Republic of Armenia via Azerbaijani territory, also passing through Georgia. This followed a statement by the President of Azerbaijan in October 2025, announcing the removal of restrictions on rail transport to Armenia via Azerbaijan, and I am grateful to the Azerbaijani President for this decision.

We, for our part, have also announced that we are ready, even today, to ensure transit from Azerbaijan to Turkey and vice versa using our existing roads. Neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey has yet used this opportunity, presumably because they are concerned it might delay the implementation of the TRIPP project. From this podium, I officially declare that Armenia has neither the intention nor the reason to delay the TRIPP project, as it fully aligns with Armenia’s short-, medium-, and long-term interests, and, in no way undermines Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, or jurisdiction.

I also want to add that the Republic of Armenia is ready today, using existing infrastructure, to ensure road connectivity between Azerbaijan’s western regions and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via the Kornidzor–Goris–Yeghegnadzor–Yeraskh route,” Prime Minister Pashinyan said.

He added that this proposal is not intended in any way to delay, obstruct, or disregard the Washington agreements. “I say this officially. We make these proposals because, as I mentioned earlier, we are already using Azerbaijan’s railway in a slightly alternative way. Just as Azerbaijan is waiting to establish connectivity to Nakhchivan via Armenian territory, we are also waiting to establish a railway connection through Nakhchivan between southern and northern Armenia. This railway route has no alternative for Armenia — the country’s mountainous terrain does not allow any other railway connection between its south and north. As you can see, the expectations of Armenia and Azerbaijan do not conflict.

We also plan to use the Georgia–Azerbaijan railway for exports. I hope that in the near future, Azerbaijan will become an export destination for Armenia. Armenia already imports petroleum products from Azerbaijan, which has helped reduce fuel prices in our market and broken decades-long monopolies in the fuel sector.

I also want to thank the Prime Minister of Georgia for supporting the railway connection between Armenia and Azerbaijan and, more broadly, the peace process,” Pashinyan said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that Armenia and the United States will soon sign an agreement and begin the practical implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project.

In his address to the European Parliament at the plenary session, Pashinyan recalled that on January 13, Armenia and the U.S. adopted the TRIPP Implementation Framework. He said the two countries will soon sign an agreement and launch the project.

He also noted that the important and sensitive issue of unblocking regional transport routes was addressed and resolved by the Washington Declaration of August 8.

“This project, stemming from the Armenian government’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, will create new transport opportunities for east–west and west–east communication, as well as for south–north and north–south connectivity, which is a transformative change. It is important to emphasize that I first spoke about the Crossroads of Peace project on October 17, 2023, from this podium at the European Parliament, and the developments described above open new opportunities for the European Union and Armenia in terms of deepening and specifying cooperation in the field of transport connectivity,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested on Wednesday that if his administration hadn’t made the decision to launch the border delimitation process with Azerbaijan in April 2024, Armenia would have lost its independence.

“In March–April 2024, we reached the brink of Armenia’s statehood. If we had not made the decision in April 2024 to launch the border delimitation process with Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia today would, at most, be under foreign rule,” Pashinyan said in his address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Prime Minister Pashinyan said that making the decision on border delimitation was extremely difficult. “With the encouragement of our church’s de facto leader, an archbishop began a movement in Armenia calling not only to halt the delimitation but, in effect, to revive the Karabakh movement, the conflict, if you will,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that tens of thousands of citizens, influenced by a disinformation campaign carried out by high-ranking clergymen and their allied opposition forces—who claimed that the government intended to cede Armenian sovereign territory, including ancient churches and villages, to Azerbaijan—took to the streets.

“You can imagine what this meant for our government and political team, which came to power through the 2018 peaceful, non-violent Velvet Revolution. How did we resolve the problem? We spoke to our employer—the people. Today, the village of Kirants in Tavush Province, which the church-opposition leaders had turned into a symbol, warning people that it would be abandoned, has seen nearly a 50 percent increase in households with the support of the government after the delimitation. It is now a completely peaceful, safe, and vibrant settlement. The ancient churches are being restored or renovated,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Pashinyan added that he personally organizes citizen visits and tours to Kirants to show people what he means by peace and by a “Real Armenia.”

“The symbol I carry on my chest is the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia,” he said, referring to the pin of the map of Armenia he wears on his suit.

“It is also a symbol of peace because we have established peace with Azerbaijan by recognizing each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence based on the Alma-Ata Declaration of December 21, 1991, whereby Soviet Azerbaijan became independent Azerbaijan and Soviet Armenia became independent Armenia. This outlines the map of independent Armenia. I would not normally address the issue of the involvement of certain clergymen in this peace process if I had not seen how their emissaries, together with certain lobby organizations, have attempted to spread claims in the European Parliament and other reputable international institutions that the Armenian government restricts freedom of conscience, that there is tyranny in Armenia, or that there are political prisoners in Armenia. The truth is that some clergymen, who cynically violated all rules of spiritual morality—thereby making themselves vulnerable to foreign intelligence services, and in some cases, documents prove they were Soviet KGB agents—have taken leadership of the war party in Armenia. They gathered around them former Armenian leaders, certain allied forces, and some Russia-based or pro-Belarus oligarchs, attempting to sacrifice Armenia’s independence for the interests of other countries.

“We will not allow a new conflict or a new war. We will not allow the awareness, peace, and independence won at the cost of thousands of lives to be sacrificed for anti-Christian purposes. In the liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the word ‘peace’ is mentioned more than 40 times. This is not only about personal or spiritual peace but also about world peace, for which our liturgical texts contain dozens of prayers to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today, however, some use the altar of Christ to preach conflict, war, and/or internal violence, violating the laws of the Republic of Armenia. This cannot be tolerated in any democratic country,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian government continues to conduct diplomatic work quietly toward securing the release of Armenians held in Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in his address to the European Parliament at a plenary session.

Pashinyan noted that Azerbaijan had recently released four Armenian detainees, adding that the news had brought great happiness.

The PM  said the government had quickly returned to what he described as diplomatic silence in order to facilitate the return of the remaining detainees.

“If the government had not previously adopted this approach, the return of the four Armenians on January 14 would not have taken place,” he noted.

Four Armenians were released by Azerbaijan earlier in January, bringing the number of remaining captives to 19.

Earlier in February, an Azerbaijani military court sentenced several former top political and military leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh to life imprisonment on war crime–related charges widely seen as fabricated.

Former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan and his deputy Davit Manukyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, former Speaker of Parliament Davit Ishkanyan and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Former Presidents Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan received 20-year prison sentences, as they are over the age of 65 and Azerbaijani law prohibits life imprisonment for individuals of that age.

They are all among the 19 Armenian captives.

Other captives received sentences ranging from 15 to 19 years.

After Azerbaijan’s takeover of Karabakh during its 2023 offensive, the Armenian population—over 100,000 people—fled to Armenia seeking refuge. The former politicians and others were detained during the exodus.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the biggest current challenge on Armenia’s path toward EU integration is the frozen political dialogue between the European Union and Georgia. He made the remarks during a speech at the European Parliament.

“Georgia is our gateway to the European Union. We adopted the law on launching the process of Armenia’s accession to the EU after Georgia received candidate status for EU membership. This made the prospect of Armenia joining the EU tangible, and our expectation and request is that the EU–Georgia constructive process continues. This is important for Armenia, just as it is for Georgia,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister noted that since the adoption of the law on launching the process of Armenia’s accession to the EU, many in Armenia have asked when the country will become an EU member.

“Our answer is very clear: no country can join the EU without meeting the Union’s standards. Therefore, our task, with the support of our European partners, is to continue along the path of reforms and first objectively meet the criteria for EU accession.

“When this happens, there are two possibilities: either the EU will accept us, or it will not. I say this because I understand that EU enlargement and the admission of a new member is not a simple matter; it is also a political decision.

“Therefore, if the EU accepts Armenia as a full member, that will be excellent. If it does not, we will still benefit, because we will be a country that meets EU standards,” Pashinyan emphasized.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola in Strasbourg, the Armenian government said in a readout.

The meeting was preceded by an official welcoming ceremony for the prime minister. Pashinyan also signed the European Parliament’s Golden Book, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.

Metsola welcomed Pashinyan’s visit and said the meeting and the prime minister’s upcoming speech provided an important opportunity to reflect on the further development of Armenia–European Union relations, as well as on the democratic and institutional reforms being implemented in Armenia.

Pashinyan expressed gratitude for the invitation and said the Armenian government is committed to consistently developing cooperation with the European Union. He also highly appreciated the EU’s continued support for the reforms underway in Armenia.

The sides discussed a number of issues on the agenda of Armenia–EU cooperation and also touched upon regional developments, emphasizing the importance of efforts aimed at strengthening peace and stability.