Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that major changes are not expected in the composition of his new Cabinet, which will be formed following the results of the June 7 parliamentary elections, in which his Civil Contract party won a majority of seats in parliament.

“There will be no major changes,” Pashinyan said at a press briefing when asked by a journalist whether the new government lineup had already been decided and whether dismissals or changes in the Cabinet were expected.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday said that one of the priority issues requiring urgent solutions in Armenia’s aviation sector is the expansion of Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport.

“Zvartnots Airport must be expanded as quickly as possible,” the Prime Minister told members of his Cabinet, citing the need to increase capacity to accommodate growing traffic.

He also highlighted the importance of implementing international standard reforms and continuously updating them.

Pashinyan also spoke about the work that needs to be carried out to redesignate Syunik Airport in Kapan as an international airport.

He further stressed the importance of implementing necessary measures for the future development of Shirak Airport in Gyumri.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday accused the main opposition forces that won seats in the June 7 parliamentary elections of vote-buying and suggested that none of them, which he refers to collectively as the “tripartite war party,” would have entered parliament without bribery.

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party received 49.825% of the vote, while Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance secured 23.281%, and former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance received 9.934%.

Business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party is very close to the 4% electoral threshold, having secured 3.996% of the vote according to preliminary results. A recount is currently underway ahead of the final results announcement on June 14.

Pashinyan has referred to the Strong Armenia Alliance, the Armenia Alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia Party as the “tripartite war party,” arguing that their victory in the June 7 polls would have triggered a new war.

Responding to a journalist’s question on whether there is any mechanism for assessing how cases of vote-buying by political forces may have affected the election results, Pashinyan said:

“Regarding the tripartite war party, none of them would have passed the parliamentary threshold without vote-buying,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister stated that the criminal justice system, including judicial and law enforcement bodies, also bears responsibility for what has happened.

“The criminal justice system also bears responsibility for what has happened here, because those who engaged in vote-buying in previous elections are not only not in prison, but have also continued their activities in this process,” he noted.

“The criminal justice system must provide answers to the public, and the public must receive a clear explanation of why it funds the criminal justice system if criminals continue not only to walk freely on the streets but also to continue their criminal activities. I will obtain answers to these questions,” Pashinyan concluded.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia would take note if other member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) decided to remove the country from the bloc.

Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) earlier agreed to consider applying a relevant provision of the organization’s charter to Armenia over its non-payment of membership fees for two years.

Armenia has not paid membership fees to the CSTO since freezing its participation in the bloc in 2024.

“I cannot comment on CSTO matters. I know that there is a mechanism for expelling a member from the CSTO. If member states decide to remove Armenia, we will have to take note of that decision. We would have nothing else to do,” Pashinyan said during a briefing with journalists, when asked whether there is a procedure for expelling a member state from the CSTO and whether such an issue could arise in Armenia’s case.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that as long as the Armenian government consistently pursues its peace agenda, there will be no war.

Pashinyan made the remarks during a press briefing when asked about his campaign statement that if the Civil Contract party does not secure a constitutional majority in parliament, a new war could break out in September.

“As long as we consistently continue the peace agenda and support it with all possible means, there will be no war; there will be peace,” the Prime Minister said.

According to preliminary results of the June 7 parliamentary elections, Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won a majority of seats but not a constitutional majority.

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party received 49.825% of the vote, while Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance secured 23.281%, and former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance received 9.934%.

Business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party is very close to the 4% electoral threshold, having secured 3.996% of the vote according to preliminary results. A recount is currently underway ahead of the final results announcement on June 14.

Pashinyan has referred to the Strong Armenia Alliance, the Armenia Alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia Party as the “tripartite war party,” arguing that their victory in the June 7 polls would have triggered a new war.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that he will definitely visit Russia if such an invitation is extended.

Pashinyan said before the June 7 elections that he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a meeting after the polls in the second half of June.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a potential meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be decided only after the final results of the Armenian parliamentary elections are published.

Pashinyan was asked about the potential visit on Thursday.

“There has been understanding regarding a visit to Russia, but there must be an invitation for me to go. If there is an invitation, I will go; I will definitely not refuse it,” Pashinyan said when asked if he plans to visit Russia and meet Putin.

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party received 49.825% of the vote, while Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance secured 23.281%, and former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance received 9.934%.

Business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party is very close to the 4% electoral threshold, having secured 3.996% of the vote according to preliminary results. A recount is currently underway ahead of the final results announcement on June 14.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday welcomed the opening of the largest international floriculture marketplace to Armenian flower producers amid efforts to diversify export markets.

“The Prime Minister of the Netherlands personally wrote to me that they will support by all possible means so that Armenian flower producers can gain access to that market and platform,” Pashinyan said at a press briefing on Thursday.

Flowers grown in Armenia are among the many goods that Russia has banned, prompting Armenian exporters to look for new markets.

The Armenian government has rolled out relief programs for exporters to help them find new markets and avoid losses. The European Union has pledged continued support to Armenia, including efforts to identify and develop new export markets. The EU announced immediate financial assistance worth over €50 million, in addition to other measures.

Most recently, a batch of flowers produced in Armenia was shipped to Latvia, while the Netherlands also announced the opening of its market. It was also announced that apricots will be shipped to Poland.

The announcement on the flower market was earlier made by Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen.

Armenia and Azerbaijan must work together to address the issue of missing persons in both countries, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

Speaking at a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Pashinyan added that Armenia has not forgotten the issue of its citizens imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

He said bilateral trade between the two countries is also a very important pillar of peace.

“All legal processes related to the [border] delimitation process have been finalized and are legally binding in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Now we must focus on the implementation of the TRIPP project, as well as continue our work toward the signing and ratification of the peace treaty,” the Prime Minister said.

The next batch of petroleum products will be exported from Azerbaijan to Armenia on June 11, the APA news agency reported.

A total of 984 tons of diesel fuel, consisting of 17 rail tank cars, will be dispatched.

Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan said that the Armenian government continues to support exporters by subsidizing customs duties on a number of goods and a significant portion of transportation costs.

As a result, exports have already been shipped to Georgia, Greece, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and other countries.

The government has recently approved a support package for greenhouse producers amid Russian restrictions. 

“The government subsidizes customs duties and a significant part of transportation costs, as a result of which we already have exports to Georgia, Greece, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and many other countries,” the minister told lawmakers at a joint committee hearing when asked to provide an update on the matter.

There is no limit on export volumes within the framework of the program.

“The more is exported, the more we will subsidize the entire volume. I am pleased to note that with each passing day, export volumes continue to grow,” the minister said.

Papoyan also said that an additional support program will be adopted at today’s government session, which will cover the subsidization of transportation costs for exports of non-greenhouse products.

“In particular, we are talking about fruits and vegetables, which are non-greenhouse products. There will also be customs duty reimbursement, which typically ranges from 8.5% to 14.5%,” he said.

The Minister of Economy emphasized that a significant share of Armenia’s products is not inferior in quality to goods offered in European markets. According to him, intensive orchards and greenhouse farms in Armenia are technologically identical to similar facilities in leading European countries.

“The intensive orchards in the Republic of Armenia are absolutely identical to the intensive orchards in Greece, Italy, Spain, and France. The greenhouse farms in Armenia are the same as those in Spain, Italy, France, or Germany. There is no difference in methods or technology whatsoever,” Papoyan stressed.

The minister noted that the products obtained from these farms meet the highest standards, and a significant portion has the necessary international certifications.

“That production meets all standards. That is why when we subsidize it, for example, and it reaches the European market, it sells quickly,” Papoyan said.

According to him, Armenia’s main problem is not the quality of its products, but its geographical distance from large markets, which results in higher transportation costs.

“Armenia is at a certain geographical distance from the European market and is still not bordering the European Union. Because of this distance, certain technical issues arise,” the minister noted.

Papoyan gave the example of strawberries produced in Armenia, emphasizing that they are grown using the same technology as in France.

“The strawberries produced in the Republic of Armenia are the same as those produced in the French Republic. They are produced with the same technologies, the same equipment, the same seedlings, and the same methods. There is nothing that differentiates them,” he said.

The minister added that in modern greenhouse farming, pest control is often carried out not with pesticides, but through biological methods.

“Pesticides are not used; pests are controlled using biological methods. A French company comes, carries out the construction, French specialists monitor plant growth, and the seedlings are brought from the same source,” Papoyan noted.

He said it is necessary to abandon the perception that Armenian products have quality issues and cannot be sold in international markets.

“The products of the Republic of Armenia are of high quality and meet all standards. The days when people said our goods are not good and cannot be sold anywhere are over. We do not have a quality competitiveness problem at all, but we do have a price competitiveness problem for objective reasons,” the minister said.

Papoyan explained that within European countries, transportation distances are much shorter, whereas exporting goods from Armenia to European markets requires more time and higher costs.

He noted that competitiveness issues should be addressed by increasing productivity and expanding production volumes. He also emphasized that productivity in Armenia has doubled over the past 7–8 years.

Responding to a question from MP Arusyak Manavazyan on whether exporters and individuals in agriculture face problems, the minister said it would not be correct to claim there are no issues.

“To say there are no problems would not be correct. There are problems. For example, a producer who has exported to Russia all his life is now exporting to Greece. That is already a shock for him; he has to learn something new,” Papoyan said.

According to him, entering new markets also brings technical and documentation-related challenges.

“There are various issues. For example, documents related to transit through Türkiye were needed, which had to be learned for the first time—what they are, and studying regulations. So yes, there are issues and there will be more,” the minister noted.

At the same time, Papoyan emphasized that a significant portion of products manufactured in Armenia—especially those produced in intensive orchards and greenhouse farms established through state support programs—meets all required standards.

“These are intensive orchards covering thousands of hectares and greenhouse farms covering hundreds of hectares. They fully comply with all standards and can easily be sold in the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, and other countries,” Papoyan concluded.

Russia has recently been imposing increasing restrictions on the import of Armenian goods, ranging from flowers and certain fruits and vegetables to mineral water, citing phytosanitary violations.

The Armenian government has rolled out relief programs for exporters to help them find new markets and avoid losses. The European Union has pledged continued support to Armenia, including efforts to identify and develop new export markets. The EU announced immediate financial assistance worth over €50 million, in addition to other measures.

Most recently, a batch of flowers produced in Armenia was shipped to Latvia, while the Netherlands also announced the opening of its market. It was also announced that apricots will be shipped to Poland.