- Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered 17 political parties and two alliances, including the one led by billionaire Samvel Karapetian, for parliamentary elections in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian could face an uphill battle to stay in power.
Karapetian’s Strong Armenia bloc was cleared to run in the June 7 elections along with former President Robert Kocharian’s Hayastan alliance and the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) led by another wealthy businessman, Gagik Tsarukian. The three opposition groups are expected to be the ruling Civil Contract party’s main election challengers.
Among other opposition contenders are former human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan’s Wings of Unity party, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress and Edmon Marukian’s Bright Armenia Party. Also in the running are three pro-government and pro-Western parties that have failed to agree on a joint list of candidates.
The elections will be held solely under the system of proportional representation. The parties will need to win at least 4 percent of the vote in order to be represented in the new Armenian parliament. The legal threshold for blocs is set at 8 percent.
Pashinian declared on April 17 that Strong Armenia, Hayastan and the BHK must not win any parliament seats. The statement contrasted with what senior senior members of Pashinian’s party said in March and February this year.
In a series of social media posts, they signaled concerns that the three opposition forces could collectively win a majority in the next parliament and thus oust Pashinian. They said at the same time that the country’s leadership “will not allow” such an outcome, stoking media speculation that at least some of the opposition heavyweights could be barred from the June 7 elections.
Although they all were registered by the CEC on Sunday, Armenian law allows the election body headed by a Pashinian ally to ask courts to disqualify in the coming weeks contenders accused by it of systematic vote buying or campaign financing irregularities. In recent weeks, dozens of Strong Armenia members and supporters have been detained on charges of bribing voters strongly denied by Karapetian’s bloc.
Karapetian is facing separate charges brought against him following his controversial arrest in June 2025. The Russian-Armenian tycoon remains under house arrest and will therefore not be able to physically attend campaign rallies. But he is allowed to receive aides, loyalists and journalists and make public statements from his Yerevan mansion. In one such interview publicized on Sunday, Karapetian warned Pashinian’s government against trying to win the June 7 ballot through fraud or foul play.
“Rest assured that we will win,” he said. “They will not manage to do anything. They have been doing everything for 10 months, nothing has worked. But if they suddenly take such ridiculous steps, that will have serious consequences.”
A senior member of Kocharian’s bloc, Artur Khachatrian, likewise implicitly warned on Monday of post-election protests in Yerevan.
“When Pashinian sees that he cannot cling to power through fair elections, I am sure that he will try to seize power, to stage a coup d’état,” claimed Khachatrian. “But the voters, the people must be ready to stand by their votes.”
The opposition Republican Party led by another ex-president, Serzh Sarkisian, has expressed readiness to join such protests despite its decision not to participate in the elections due to an apparent lack of public support.
“If the current regime seizes power again through the abuse of administrative resources and unacceptable methods under unequal conditions, the Republican Party is ready to take its place at the forefront of a post-election struggle,” Sarkisian said last week.
Pashinian’s aides and political allies did not respond to the opposition warnings on Monday. The CEC chairman, Vahagn Hovakimian, insisted in December that he will do his best to ensure the proper conduct of the polls.
Pashinian and his party are already accused by the opposition of trying to buy votes with public money as well as through a private charity run by the premier’s wife, Anna Hakobian. No Civil Contract party member is known to have been prosecuted on corresponding charges.
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RFE/RL – Aliyev Slams ‘Pro-Armenian’ EU Parliament
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned the European Parliament for asserting the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh’s displaced Armenian population as he addressed the European Political Community summit in Yerevan via video link on Monday.
“Since the second Karabakh war, from 2021 to 2026, the European Parliament has adopted 14 resolutions that lie about Azerbaijan in a very offensive way,” Aliyev said. “The latest one [was adopted] just four days before this summit.”
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan “put an end to separatism” in Karabakh in line with international law. He went on to announce that Azerbaijan’s parliament will sever all ties with the European Union’s legislative body in response to the “provocative” resolution overwhelmingly passed on April 30.
The resolution demanded the immediate release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan and reaffirmed support for the Karabakh Armenians’ right to return to their homeland, recaptured by Baku in 2023, safely and “under international guarantees.” In a clear reference to the destruction of Karabakh’s Armenian churches, it also said “those responsible for the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage” must be held accountable.
Roberta Metsola, the European Parliament speaker attending the Yerevan summit in person, was quick to hit back at Aliyev. While its resolutions “may cause inconvenience to many,” the EU legislature “will never change our working methods and the positions we adopt,” Metsola said as several dozen Karabakh Armenian refugees demonstrated outside the summit venue.
In contrast to the European Parliament, the Armenian government has essentially stopped criticizing Baku since Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian initialed a bilateral peace treaty in Washington last August. Pashinian has declined to even denounce the recent demolition of Karabakh’s largest Armenian church. He has repeatedly said that the refugees should forget about returning to Karabakh.
“We are now working closely with Azerbaijan to consolidate and institutionalize peace between our two countries,” Pashinian told the summit.
He said he hopes to attend a European Political Community summit in Azerbaijan which is due to take place in 2028.
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Turkish Press: Turkish vice president makes highest-level visit to Armenia sin
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on Monday, marking the highest-level visit by a Turkish official to Armenia since 2008, as the two countries continue cautious efforts to normalize relations.
Yılmaz is representing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the eighth European Political Community (EPC) summit in the Armenian capital, where leaders are gathering under the theme “Building the Future: Unity and Stability in Europe.”
In a statement on X, Yılmaz said he had a “comprehensive and productive” meeting with Pashinyan on behalf of Erdoğan, discussing bilateral ties and cooperation on transportation, customs, energy, digital infrastructure and connectivity.
He also welcomed “concrete progress” in the process of normalization, pointing to a memorandum of understanding signed for the joint restoration of the Ani Bridge, a medieval bridge over the Arpaçay/Akhurian River near the ruins of Ani that once connected Anatolia and the South Caucasus and today stands as a symbolic link on the closed Turkey-Armenia border.
The memorandum was signed under the auspices of Yılmaz and Pashinyan by Serdar Kılıç, Turkey’s special representative for the normalization process, and Ruben Rubinyan, Armenia’s special envoy.
Yılmaz’s visit is the highest-level trip by a Turkish official to Yerevan since then-president Abdullah Gül traveled to Armenia in 2008 during a period of so-called “football diplomacy.”
Gül attended a Turkey-Armenia World Cup qualifying match with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, in a visit that briefly raised hopes for reconciliation.
The latest diplomatic contact comes as Ankara and Yerevan have taken a series of steps to advance normalization, although their land border remains closed and Turkey continues to link further progress to a final peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has denied reports that Turkey’s land border with Armenia will reopen on June 4, saying there is not yet a timetable for opening the border, T24 reported.
Ministry sources told T24 that the process between Ankara and Yerevan has continued uninterrupted for four years with the goal of “full normalization” and that confidence-building steps have been taken in areas ranging from transportation and trade to culture and education.
They said preparatory work at the border was intended to allow any future decision to be implemented quickly but stressed that no date had been set.
“With the signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the process our country is conducting with Armenia will gain momentum. Therefore, there is currently no timetable for the opening of the border gates,” the sources said.
The statement came after Turkish media reports claimed on Monday that the Turkey-Armenia land border could be opened on June 4, just days before Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections and while Yerevan hosts the EPC summit.
Turkey and Armenia have no formal diplomatic relations. Their border, including the Alican-Margara crossing linking Turkey’s Iğdır province with Armenia’s Armavir region, has been closed since 1993, when Ankara shut it in support of Azerbaijan during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The crossing briefly reopened in 2023 to allow Armenian aid into Turkey following two powerful earthquakes on Feb. 6 and later hosted a round of normalization talks between the two countries’ special envoys.
A renewed normalization process was launched after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which ended with Azerbaijan regaining control of territory it had lost in the 1990s. Ankara and Yerevan appointed special envoys, who held their first meeting in Moscow in January 2022.
The fifth round of talks between the special representatives was held at the Alican crossing on July 30, 2024.
As part of the process, the sides agreed on several confidence-building measures, including the start of direct flights, air cargo transport and the opening of the land border to third-country nationals and diplomatic passport holders, although the border remains closed.
The normalization process has also included recent talks on reopening the Kars-Gyumri railway, the only rail link between Turkey and Armenia. Turkish and Armenian officials met in Kars in late April to form a joint working group and said the line should be put back into operation as soon as possible.
The railway, once an important trade and transit route, has been idle since 1993, when the last train crossed the border during tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Recent momentum in Turkey-Armenia contacts has coincided with progress, but not a final agreement, between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two countries initialed a peace deal at a summit in Washington in August 2025, but the agreement has not yet been formally signed.
Azerbaijan has demanded changes to Armenia’s constitution before signing the final agreement, claiming that it contains claims against Azerbaijani territory. Pashinyan has pledged constitutional changes, but a possible referendum is expected to come after the June 7 elections.
The EPC summit is being chaired by European Council President António Costa and Pashinyan.
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EU and Canada deepen ties at Armenia summit in face of Putin and Trump threats
EU and Canada deepen ties at Armenia summit in face of Putin and Trump threats
Canada, the EU, EU-aspirant, and other European states have pledged closer alignment in the face of Russian and US geopolitical threats.
“We know nostalgia is not a strategy, but we don’t think that we’re destined to submit to a more transactional, insular, and brutal world,” said Canadian prime minister Mark Carney at a European summit in Yerevan on Monday (4 May).
“It’s my strong personal view that as the international order will be rebuilt, it will be rebuilt out of Europe. And so I’m very appreciative of the symbolism of this invitation,” he added.
“We are the most European of non-European countries,” Carney said.
The Yerevan summit of the European Political Community (EPC) brought together mostly EU leaders, those from EU-aspirant countries in the eastern neighbourhood, such as Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Turkey.
It was held in the shadow not just of Russia’s war on Ukraine, but also of unilateral US aggression against Venezuela and Iran, as well as US president Donald Trump’s threats to end Nato.
And Carney came to Yerevan after Trump had also threatened Canada and Greenland in the run-up to the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, where the Canadian leader inspired EU peers with a speech on the need for “middle powers” to stand together to tame unruly “hegemons”.
Carney pledged to keep Canadian troops in Nato’s Russia-deterrent multinational battalion in Latvia and to work with Europe on more secure supplies of energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, and vaccines, as well as on digital sovereignty and on US-independent payment systems.
For his part, French president Emmanuel Macron said in Yerevan: “The Russian war against Ukraine revealed our over-dependencies regarding gas and Russian gas. We are [now] experiencing the cost of our over-dependencies when we speak about the American umbrella in terms of defence and security”.
“Let’s be honest, this is the elephant in the room,” he said of Trump’s America.
“Ukraine is by far the hottest topic” on the EU agenda, Macron added, amid fears Trump might pull US troops from Europe, leaving Nato open to an attack by Russia after the Ukraine war calms down.
And the Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelensky, underlined that its drone-warfare capabilities could help protect the EU in a post-Nato theatre.
“They [the Russians] fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling. It shows they are not strong now,” Zelensky said in Yerevan, alluding to Ukraine’s disruption of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s military parade on Saturday, designed to commemorate the end of World War 2, which Kyiv was actively trying to derail despite Trump’s demand for it to let Putin host his event in peace.
Armenia
Meanwhile, Armenia itself had been pulled into Russia’s orbit in 2014 when it joined Putin’s ‘Eurasian Economic Community’, but it broke with Moscow when Russian peacekeepers failed to stop Azerbaijan from conquering an Armenian-held region in 2023.
“Eight years ago, this country was seen by a lot of countries around the [EPC] table as a sort of de facto satellite of Russia,” said Macron on Monday.
“[Armenian prime minister] Nikol [Pashinayn] organised this velvet revolution and decided to de-risk his country from Russia. And he still gets attacked on a daily basis because of that,” Macron added, referring to the 2018 pro-democratic Armenian Revolution.
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Türkiye and Armenia Pledge to Restore Historic Border Bridge
Türkiye and Armenia on Monday signed an agreement to jointly restore the medieval Ani bridge on their shared border, as part of moves to normalize ties between the two countries.
“We believe that symbolic and concrete areas of cooperation, such as the joint restoration of the Ani bridge which was formalized today by a memorandum of understanding, will help establish a lasting climate of peace and security,” said Türkiye’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
Yilmaz met Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the eighth European Political Community summit in Yerevan.
Pashinyan wrote on X that he had a “fruitful exchange” with Yilmaz and hailed the bridge restoration deal.
The bridge was built in the 10th century over the Arpacay river, which borders the medieval site of Ani in eastern Türkiye, the capital of the former Armenian kingdom.
It had two levels, one for caravans underneath and another above for pedestrians.
Only its piers are still standing and visible.
Restoration of the site, which was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016, is already the subject of scientific cooperation between the two countries.
Yerevan and Ankara have not established diplomatic relations and their land border, which was briefly opened in the early 1990s, remains shut.
The two countries have pursued a cautious rapprochement since the end of 2021 and Azerbaijan’s seizure of Karabakh, which saw most of the Armenian population leave.
At the end of last month, they decided to put the Kars-Gyumri railway line back into service on both sides of the border.
Türkiye’s national carrier, Turkish Airlines, operated its first direct flight between Istanbul and Yerevan in March.
But the two sides remain divided.
The Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed under the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917 and seek international recognition that it was genocide.
Türkiye strongly denies the accusation of genocide and disputes the numbers, saying that the Armenians were among hundreds of thousands of people who died in the turmoil of World War I as the Ottoman Empire disintegrated.
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Armenia has chosen path ‘towards Europe’, Macron says AFP
Armenia has chosen the path “towards Europe”, French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to Yerevan on Monday, as the landlocked post-Soviet state cautiously shifts away from Russia’s political orbit.
Armenia has been building ties with Europe for years, amid frustration in the country over Moscow’s perceived failure to protect it during conflicts with neighbouring Azerbaijan.
“For decades, we had become somewhat accustomed to Armenia being, in a way, a satellite of Russia,” Macron told members of Armenia’s French community in the capital Yerevan.
“Armenia has indeed made the choice… to break free from this constraint and turn towards Europe,” he added.
Macron also said France had provided material support for Armenia during conflicts with Azerbaijan.
“Russia was not there, any more than it is there for Venezuela when there are problems,” he said.
France is home to one of the largest Armenian diaspora communities in the world.
The two countries have a history of close diplomatic relations.
Dozens of European leaders including Macron were in Yerevan this week for a summit of the European Political Community, as well as a joint Armenian-EU summit.
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Summit in Yerevan: Armenia is moving closer to the EU, with a focus on securit
Author:
Branko Lozančić
The leaders of the European Political Community members gathered in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The main topics of discussion are the region’s democratic resilience and energy security. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is participating in the meeting, and the summit in Armenia also has a certain symbolism because the country is facing elections in which it wants to move closer to the West, while simultaneously facing pressure from Russia.
“The summit of the European Political Community in Yerevan has strong political symbolism ahead of the parliamentary elections in Armenia, in which the EU expects pro-European Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan to win. It is an attempt to distance the country from Russian influence, although Armenia still remains strongly economically tied to Russia, especially through gas imports,” journalist Tamara Marković said in a direct report for Croatian Television news.
At the same time, Armenia maintains good relations with Iran, with which it conducted joint military exercises last year, while the EU is announcing 12 million euros in aid to combat hybrid threats.
The summit was also dominated by topics related to NATO, following the announcement of the US withdrawal of some troops from Germany.
Secretary General Mark Rutte said that European countries are strengthening the implementation of agreements on the use of military bases, while Prime Minister Andrej Plenković assessed that the Alliance is stable.
Croatia and Armenia strengthen cooperation, strategic dialogue signed
The fact that the small Caucasian state has been chosen to host the European Political Community is a clear political message.
Armenia is gradually moving away from the Russian orbit and turning to the West. Although Russia still has a military base on its territory, Yerevan has frozen participation in the military alliance led by Moscow.
On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Ministers Andrej Plenković and Nikol Pashinyan signed a Joint Declaration on the Strategic Dialogue between Croatia and Armenia, with the aim of deepening cooperation – including defense and security.
“They would like, at least the Prime Minister’s political position is, to be as close as possible to the European Union, to reach European standards. In this context, Croatia plays an important role in the transfer of knowledge. We have a twinning project with Slovenia where we are helping in their healthcare reform segment,” said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
The European Political Community brings together countries from across the continent – intentionally excluding Russia and Belarus. The initiative was launched in 2022 by French President Emmanuel Macron to open up a new space for political and security cooperation in Europe.
“We Europeans are building our own security solutions. We have been doing this since 2022 by establishing the European Political Community, but also by creating a coalition of those willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
EU and Armenia strengthen partnership, focus on defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also attending the summit for the first time this year. In the Caucasus, where Russian influence has significantly weakened, the focus of European leaders is on defense.
“We need to strengthen our military capabilities so that we can defend and protect ourselves. We have huge financial resources at our disposal for investment. Now we really need to accelerate and intensify the process of producing military capabilities. And the third element is the issue of reliable supply chains,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Tomorrow, the first bilateral summit between the European Union and Armenia will be held in Yerevan, where the formalization of a new strategic partnership is expected.
Although it remains a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia is increasingly openly stating that it will remain within that framework only as long as it is compatible with rapprochement with the European Union.
Source: HRT
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Armenia’s Pashinyan thanks Christodoulides for ‘longstanding support’
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday thanked President Nikos Christodoulides for his and Cyprus’ “longstanding support for the Armenian people” when the pair met on the sidelines of the day’s European Political Community summit in Yerevan.
According to deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou, Pashinyan and Christodoulides “reviewed the excellent relations between Cyrus and Armenia”, and Pashinyan also thanked Christodoulides for Cyprus’ “constructive stance in the further development of Armenia’s relations with the European Union”.
Antoniou added that the pair had “discussed issues which will contribute to further cooperation between Cyprus and Armenia, especially in the areas of air connectivity, tourism, and trade”.
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At the summit in Armenia, Ilham Aliyev strongly argued with the President of t
At the summit of the European Political Community in Yerevan, a sharp public dispute took place between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Euronews reports .
Aliyev accused the European Parliament of allegedly spreading lies and disinformation about Azerbaijan and criticizing it too harshly. He called this position “a kind of obsession” with his country and stated that the Azerbaijani parliament is suspending cooperation with the European Parliament.
He also claimed that EU deputies were allegedly hindering the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was launched with US mediation after the completion of the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh.
In response, Roberta Metsola defended the European Parliament. She emphasized that it is a democratic institution where decisions are made by voting, and that criticism from some countries will not change its operating principles.
Reportedly, Aliyev’s speech was not planned in advance, so Metsola demanded the floor to respond to the accusations.
The European Parliament had previously adopted resolutions criticizing the situation in Azerbaijan, including regarding Nagorno-Karabakh and the rights of the Armenian population after the conflict.
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Aliyev accuses EU of ‘sabotaging’ Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused the European Parliament of sabotaging the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Addressing the 8th European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan via video link on Monday, Aliyev said the European Parliament had adopted 14 resolutions over the past five years containing offensive language directed at Baku.
“This body, instead of supporting the peace process, is effectively engaged in sabotaging it. From May 2021 to April 30, 2026, the European Parliament has adopted 14 resolutions full of offensive wording against Azerbaijan. Just imagine — 14 resolutions in five years — a kind of obsession. And the latest one was adopted just four days ago,” Aliyev stated.
Aliyev said the Azerbaijani parliament decided on May 1 to suspend cooperation with the European Parliament in all spheres and initiate procedures to terminate its membership in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.
On May 1, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned EU Ambassador to Baku Mariana Kuyuncic who was handed a protest note regarding the European Parliament resolution Supporting Democratic Resilience in Armenia.
The ministry emphasised that the provisions of the resolution distort reality, contradict the principles of objectivity, as well as the obligations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
According to Aliyev, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said the resolution distorted reality, contradicted the principles of objectivity and violated obligations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, for his part, expressed hope that he would visit Azerbaijan in 2028 to participate in the next EPC summit.
“I hope that I will have the opportunity to visit Azerbaijan in 2028 for the EPC summit,” Pashinyan said during the gathering in Yerevan.
Pashinyan noted that Armenia and Azerbaijan had mutually supported each other’s candidacies to host future EPC summits.
Commenting on Aliyev’s remarks, he emphasised that it was the first time an Azerbaijani president had participated in an event held in Armenia, even if through videoconference.
He added that EPC summits have played an important role in facilitating contacts between the leaderships of Armenia and Türkiye.
“My first bilateral meeting with the Turkish president took place precisely on the sidelines of the first EPC summit in Prague. And now the Vice President of Türkiye is here to participate in the EPC summit and has become the first Turkish vice president to visit Armenia,” Pashinyan said.
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