NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he “welcomes” U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest announcement about deploying 5,000 troops to Poland. 

NATO’s military commanders will work through details, Rutte said, during remarks to reporters ahead of the alliance’s foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden, DW reported.

Trump said he plans to send 5,000 troops to Poland.

“Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki,” Trump wrote in a social media post, “I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland.”

But the decision led to confusion because it came two days after the Pentagon announced that it was suspending the deployment of a brigade combat team (4,000 to 4,700 troops) to Poland.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said then that it meant there was going to be a “temporary delay” of the scheduled deployment of US forces to Poland. 

The Pentagon’s move was also surprising because it was Germany, not Poland, that criticized the US strategy in Iran, drawing Trump’s ire.

It was not clear whether Trump’s announcement meant the brigade would resume its deployment to Poland, if additional troops on top of that rotational deployment could be added, or whether there would still be a drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe but from a different country.  

Trump said the U.S. would reduce troops in Germany in early May.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he experienced deep emotional turmoil after the 44-day war in 2020.

Speaking to reporters on May 22, Pashinyan said the aftermath of the war led him to conclude that Armenia had been drawn into a “trap” through the Karabakh movement, adding that he is now proud to have helped lead the country out of that “trap.”

He revealed that he stopped praying daily for the first time in his life after November 8, 2020. The armistice that ended the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war was signed on November 9, 2020.

“After that, I observed a long fast; for one week I neither ate nor drank anything. If you are asking about my emotions, those were my emotions. But then I began to think: what happened and why? Step by step, I came to understand that Armenia had been placed in a trap through the Karabakh movement, and that trap must be escaped from. I am happy and proud that I managed to lead Armenia out of that trap. The emotion is connected to something else — I see that today certain people, acting within the logic of espionage activity, want to drag Armenia back into the trap of conflict,” he said when asked what he felt after the 2020 war and the 2023 Azerbaijani takeover of Karabakh.

Pashinyan added that he is an emotional person and said he had been the same way when he was a journalist and opposition lawmaker.

“Yes, I am an emotional person — is that news to you? When I was an opposition MP and a journalist, was I not emotional? Human beings are emotional by nature; I cannot imagine a person without emotions. A person without emotions is either a plank of wood or a brick. Unfortunately, in the political sphere we see such blunt instruments being used by various forces,” Pashinyan said.

He said that afterwards he resumed his prayers and also began learning psalms on that occasion, because he felt a need to fill a spiritual void.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is running for re-election on the Civil Contract party’s ticket, said on Friday that the campaign for the June 7 parliamentary elections is proceeding well.

Speaking at a press conference, Pashinyan, the Chairman of the Board of the Civil Contract party and its prime ministerial candidate, especially highlighted the active participation of children in the political process.

“I assess the course of the campaign as very good, and I believe that my emotions have also awakened the emotions of the people,” he told reporters when asked to assess the campaigning period so far.

“What we are seeing, in my understanding, is very similar to the processes that took place during the 2018 non-violent ‘velvet’ revolution, in the sense that if we called the 2018 revolution a non-violent, velvet, people’s revolution, then I would conditionally call the current processes a ‘children’s revolution,’ because children are very active, and in reality they are the main source of energy in this political process, which is very symbolic and carries responsibility,” Pashinyan said.

In Armenia, the election campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7 began on May 8 and will continue until June 5. A total of 19 political forces—2 alliances and 17 parties—are running in the elections.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has outlined his vision for Armenia 10–15 years from now, describing it as a peaceful, sovereign, and economically stronger state.

Asked at a press briefing to share his vision of the country over the next decade or more, he said: “I envision a peaceful, sovereign Armenia. I envision a peace agreement with Azerbaijan signed and ratified, border delimitation completed, and the roads reopened. Fifteen years from now, I envision our gross domestic product at least doubled in real terms.”

“In other words, we will be a democratic, free, independent, and prosperous state, which, so to speak, will be a crossroads of peace,” Pashinyan added, referring to his administration’s eponymous flagship project, designed to connect the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Mediterranean through a consolidated regional railway network along the North–South and East–West routes, which also includes the TRIPP project.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has ruled out any increase in the price of Russian gas supplied to Armenia, citing an existing contract between the two countries.

“There cannot be an increase in the price of gas because we have a contract that is in effect and mutually beneficial. The contract contains specific terms, and we have reached clear strategic agreements regarding the gas price, and those agreements must be upheld,” the Prime Minister said at a press briefing when asked about the possibility of Russia raising the price of gas supplied to Armenia.

On May 21, media reports suggested that the price of Russian gas for Armenia could rise; however, shortly afterward, Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission denied these claims.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has clarified that his controversial remark, “Why didn’t you die?” was not directed at the Armenian people, but at members of the Karabakh-Armenian political and public “pseudo-elite,” whom he accused of abandoning their troops and fleeing to Armenia in both 2020 and 2023.

During a press briefing, Pashinyan said the remark was aimed at individuals who present themselves as representatives of various Karabakh institutions in exile, despite the Armenian government condemning any attempts to establish such self-styled entities.

“The Prime Minister of Armenia did not ask the Armenian people why they didn’t die in the war. The Prime Minister addressed representatives of the Karabakh pseudo-elite, asking why they didn’t die,” he said.

According to Pashinyan, these individuals, in his assessment, did not participate in combat operations.

“Those who call themselves members of the Karabakh parliament, or representatives of various sectors of Karabakh—did they go to the front, did they fire a shot? Not only did they not fight, but when I refer to ‘those who fled,’ that is exactly who I mean,” he said.

He added that these individuals should provide explanations for their actions.

“What were they doing, sitting in their homes? Who went to stand and fight alongside the soldiers? Some of them even fled, leaving our troops behind. They need to provide an explanation—starting from Samvel Shahramanyan and including others,” Pashinyan said, referring to the last leader of Karabakh before the Azerbaijani takeover in 2023.

Pashinyan originally made the “Why didn’t you die?” remark on May 15 during a debate in Yerevan’s Arabkir district with Arthur Osipyan, a Karabakh-Armenian activist, while discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Friday that the Armenian government cannot abandon the enclave-exclave issue in talks with Azerbaijan.

Speaking at a press briefing, Pashinyan addressed the delimitation of borders and the enclave-exclave issue. He highlighted that Armenia and Azerbaijan have mutually recognized each other’s territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration.

“There is a legally binding document stating that the Alma-Ata Declaration serves as the foundational basis for border delimitation between the two countries,” the Prime Minister said.

According to him, under the Alma-Ata Declaration, in terms of territorial size, independent Armenia is identical to Soviet Armenia, and independent Azerbaijan is identical to Soviet Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan also noted that Armenia cannot renounce the issue of enclaves-exclaves, as doing so would also constitute a renunciation of Armenia’s sovereign territory.

“Today there are issues, and we cannot abandon the topic of enclaves for one simple reason: we ourselves have an [exclave]—Artsvashen. If anyone were to renounce it, that would be grounds for criminal liability. No one can renounce Armenia’s sovereign territory,” he said.

At the same time, the Prime Minister emphasized that there is currently no agreement or strategy regarding the resolution of the enclave-exclave issue.

“There is no agreement, no concept, no strategy related to resolving this issue, but the regulation [on delimitation] define cases that can also be considered, depending on how we approach the matter,” Pashinyan said.

According to the Prime Minister, the delimitation process will also address issues related to roads, infrastructure, and communications, and any possible decisions will be open and public.

“If there are any optimizations during the delimitation process, they will be open, public, and transparent,” he said.

Pashinyan reaffirmed that, as a result of the delimitation, the territory of the Republic of Armenia will remain 29,743 square kilometers.

“This is iron logic; there can be no other logic,” the Prime Minister added.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Russia’s restrictions on Armenian flower imports are not new and have been discussed periodically within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Addressing these restrictions at a press briefing, Pashinyan said that such measures have always existed for products that do not meet phytosanitary requirements. “These restrictions have always been in place because any product that does not comply with phytosanitary standards has always been subject to such limitations, and they will continue to exist,” the Prime Minister said.

According to him, over the past eight years, such situations have been recorded dozens of times, caused not only by phytosanitary issues but also by other types of problems.

Pashinyan noted that at EAEU meetings, there are regular discussions about the extent to which certain products circulating within the union are actually produced in member countries. “Now a delegation has arrived, and this is just another routine working situation,” he said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the EAEU’s principle is that goods produced within the union should move freely. He also pointed out that such issues are regularly discussed at both the EAEU Supreme Economic Council and the EAEU Intergovernmental Council meetings. “I am the only leader who participates in both formats,” Pashinyan added.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that only Armenia can discuss or decide its membership status in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

He emphasized that a member state alone has the authority to leave the union, and there is no other procedure, following comments by Russia that Armenia’s status in the EAEU would be discussed at the upcoming summit.

“Under the regulations of the EAEU, only Armenia can discuss its membership status in the union. A member state alone can decide to leave; there is no other procedure. We can discuss any questions that arise, and I assume our partners may have some, and we will respond to all of them patiently,” the Prime Minister said at a press briefing.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk told TASS in an interview that Armenia’s status in the EAEU would be discussed at a May 29 summit amid the country’s EU integration moves.

Armenia’s ties with Georgia are independent of third-party relations and will remain strategic and fraternal, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

Asked at a press conference on Friday to comment on Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement that the European Union would not succeed in creating divisions in Armenian-Georgian relations, Pashinyan noted that Georgia plays an important role in the context of Armenia-EU relations.

“Regarding Georgia, I have clearly stated that Georgia plays a very significant and key role in Armenia-EU relations, and we are very concerned about the current situation. We believe that this situation needs to be resolved,” Pashinyan said.

At the same time, he emphasized that Armenia’s relations with Georgia are not conditioned by ties with other countries or unions.

“Armenia’s relations with Georgia are not linked to relations with any third party. Naturally, these relations are strategic, long-term, historical, fraternal, and will continue to remain so. There simply can be no other scenario,” Pashinyan said.