Pashinyan, Zelenskyy discuss prospects for cooperation

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.

According to a statement from the Armenian prime minister’s office, the sides discussed prospects for developing bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Ukraine, highlighting the importance of deepening collaboration in areas of mutual interest.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on regional and global developments, underlining the need to promote stable and lasting peace.

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Pashinyan, Sánchez discuss Armenia-Spain ties

Politics17:29, 4 May 2026
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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.

According to a statement from the Armenian prime minister’s office, the two leaders discussed prospects for developing bilateral relations, highlighting the importance of intensifying political dialogue and expanding economic cooperation.

They also addressed ongoing processes within the Armenia-European Union partnership and regional issues of mutual interest. Pashinyan presented the progress of reforms being implemented by the Armenian government, emphasising steps aimed at strengthening democracy, the rule of law and economic development.

The sides described cooperation in the fields of economy, energy and tourism as promising. They also underscored the importance of efforts to ensure regional stability and peace, as well as maintaining continued dialogue on international platforms.

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Armenia, Turkey sign memorandum on restoration of Ani Bridge

Politics18:25, 4 May 2026
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Armenia and Turkey have signed a memorandum of understanding on the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge during the 8th European Political Community Summit in Yerevan.

The announcement was made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“Had a productive exchange with the Vice President of Türkiye, Cevdet Yılmaz, on the margins of the European Political Community. Touched upon bilateral and regional cooperation opportunities between Armenia and Turkey.

Welcomed the signing of the protocol on the joint reconstruction of the historic Ani Bridge.”

For his part, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on X that he had a comprehensive and productive meeting with Pashinyan in Yerevan, during which bilateral relations were discussed.

“During our meeting with His Excellency Pashinyan, we comprehensively assessed our bilateral relations. We also had the opportunity to discuss steps aimed at strengthening transport, customs, energy, and digital infrastructure and connectivity,” he said.

Yılmaz also highlighted progress in the normalisation process.

“We are particularly pleased that the mutually constructive steps taken within the framework of the normalisation process are yielding tangible progress,” he said.

Referring to the Ani Bridge, Yılmaz said the signing of the memorandum on its joint restoration would contribute to creating a solid environment for peace and security.

He stressed that Turkey would continue to support regional cooperation.

“Based on regional peace, dialogue, and stability, we will resolutely continue our approach to promoting normalisation in the South Caucasus, expanding economic cooperation, and strengthening people-to-people contacts,” he said.

Yılmaz thanked Pashinyan for the hospitality and expressed hope that the meeting would contribute to further positive developments.

The protocol on implementing restoration works of the historic Ani (Silk Road) Bridge on the Armenia–Turkey border was signed by Ruben Rubinyan, Armenia’s special representative for the normalisation process, and Serdar Kılıç, Turkey’s special representative.

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Armenia’s European Week Exposes the Limits of Pashinyan’s Balancing Act

EU Today
May 4 2026



As Yerevan hosts European leaders and welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Armenia is being treated as a state moving westward. Yet its formal ties to Russian-led structures, unresolved security dependencies and cautious domestic politics reveal a country still suspended between strategic choice and diplomatic performance.

Yerevan this week has become an unlikely stage for European power politics. Armenia is hosting the eighth European Political Community summit on 4 May, followed by the first EU-Armenia summit on 4-5 May. European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are representing the EU, while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is hosting on behalf of Armenia.

The symbolism is considerable. Armenia remains formally linked to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, and its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation has been frozen rather than ended. Yet it is receiving European leaders, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met Pashinyan in Yerevan to discuss closer ties with the EU, security and bilateral co-operation.

For Armenia, this is not merely diplomatic theatre. It is a public test of strategic direction. Since the 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh, and especially after Azerbaijan’s 2023 takeover of the region and the exodus of its Armenian population, Yerevan’s trust in Russia as a security guarantor has sharply declined. In February 2024, Pashinyan said Armenia had frozen its participation in the CSTO because the bloc had failed the country.

The problem is that Armenia’s geopolitical break with Moscow remains incomplete. The CSTO membership has not been formally terminated. Armenia remains within the Eurasian Economic Union. Russian military, economic and political influence has not vanished. The summits in Yerevan therefore illuminate both the scale of Armenia’s shift and the ambiguity of Pashinyan’s policy.

The central question is whether Armenia is moving towards Europe as a strategic choice, or whether it is using European engagement as leverage in a continued policy of manoeuvre between Moscow, Brussels, Washington, Ankara, Baku and Tehran.

That distinction matters. Armenia’s problem is not only exposure to external pressure. It is also credibility. In April 2025, Armenia adopted a law establishing a framework for EU integration. Pashinyan, however, made clear that this was not a formal EU membership application and that eventual accession would require time and probably a referendum.

The caution is understandable, but it carries a cost. Hosting European leaders is not the same as making an institutional choice. Armenia can welcome Brussels, speak the language of democratic resilience, and deepen sectoral co-operation with the EU. But as long as it avoids a formal break with Russian-led structures, its European course remains conditional.

The EU, for its part, appears to understand the stakes. It is sending experts to help Armenia counter Russian propaganda, cyber-attacks and interference ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 June. This reflects concern that Armenia is vulnerable to external pressure during a politically sensitive period.

Comparisons with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are relevant, but limited. Moldova has Russian troops in Transnistria, but it was never embedded in the CSTO or the Eurasian Economic Union. Ukraine’s European path has been defined by war and national mobilisation, but it has a long border with the EU. Georgia has formal candidate status, but its domestic political direction has raised serious concerns in Brussels.

Armenia’s position is different. It has no direct border with the EU. Its options are constrained by Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and Georgia. Its economy remains exposed to Russia. Its security policy is still shaped by the legacy of Russian presence and by unresolved questions over borders, communications routes and peace with Azerbaijan.

These realities do not make a European course impossible. They make it more complex than summit declarations suggest.

Pashinyan’s balancing act has allowed Armenia to reduce reliance on Moscow without provoking a complete rupture. It has also allowed Yerevan to attract Western attention without immediately assuming the obligations of a candidate state. But balance can become drift. In Armenia’s case, drift risks leaving the country suspended between a Russian order it no longer trusts and a European order it has not yet formally asked to join.

The EU should be careful not to mistake access for alignment. Armenia needs election monitoring, cyber resilience, border support, economic diversification and a realistic path towards deeper integration. But Brussels also needs clarity from Yerevan. A government cannot indefinitely present itself as European while retaining the structures of dependency that make European alignment vulnerable to reversal.

For Armenia, the choice is difficult because it is not declaratory. It involves trade, security, borders, energy, migration and domestic reform. It also involves telling voters that European integration would be a long process, not an immediate guarantee of prosperity or protection.

Yerevan’s European week is therefore not a conclusion. It is a moment of exposure. It shows that Armenia has acquired new diplomatic importance. It also shows that the old architecture has not yet been dismantled.

The arrival of Zelenskyy in Yerevan underlines how far the post-Soviet space has changed. But Armenia’s future will not be decided by who attends a summit. It will be decided by whether Yerevan is prepared to turn this week’s European stage into institutional choices that Moscow cannot easily reverse.



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Macron to meet Aliyev to address the situation of Armenian prisoners

ANF News
May 4 2026

Macron to meet Aliyev to address the situation of Armenian prisoners

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will address the situation of Armenian prisoners in a meeting with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev following the European Political Community Summit.

French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Sunday evening in Yerevan that he would meet with Ilham Aliyev to raise the issue of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

Macron noted that he would establish contact with Aliyev after the European Political Community (EPC) summit and emphasized that France would “continue to maintain its role as a mediator” between Baku and Yerevan. When asked by an Armenian journalist what the international community could do to secure the release of the prisoners, Macron replied: “Negotiation!”

The French leader said he would also meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, adding, “Immediately after this trip, I will also have a meeting with President Aliyev.”

Following his participation in the EPC summit in Yerevan, Macron is expected to carry out a state visit lasting until Tuesday evening.

Bringing together most European countries and held twice a year, the EPC gathers leaders of both EU member and non-member states. Russia and Belarus are not part of this platform.

Macron noted that tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have decreased and that “a new phase has begun,” adding, “It is very important to support this process in order to strengthen peace and stability. Our role is to do everything we can to improve the situation.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan had signed an agreement in Washington in August 2025 under the auspices of Donald Trump, aimed at ending their decades-long territorial dispute.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lies at the center of the conflict between the parties, came to the forefront following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the wars in 2020. Azerbaijan regained control of the region in 2023 through a short military operation.


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Verelq: At the Yerevan summit, Aliyev criticized the Council of Europe and immediately got a kick out of it

Photo: RIA Novosti

The speech of the President of Azerbaijan, who joined the summit of the European Political Community in Yerevan, was distinguished by his harsh criticism of the European structures and his assertions about the establishment of regional peace, which immediately received a strong opposition from the leadership of the European Parliament.


Addressing European leaders: Ilham Aliyev He accused the European Parliament and the Council of Europe of provocative and pro-Armenian policy against Azerbaijan. As an example, he cited fourteen resolutions passed between 2021 and 2026, which he said contained “outright lies and slander.” In response to these actions, the Azerbaijani leader announced that the Milli Mejlis will freeze all ties with the European Parliament and Euronest from May, urging MEPs to focus instead on Europe’s fundamental problems: “migration, declining competitiveness and Islamophobia.”


Despite the current controversy, Aliyev assured that Baku is committed to the peace process, noting that “they just restored international law and territorial integrity.” As a positive and peaceful movement, he singled out the fact that during the previous meeting held in Tirana, he joined the Yerevan platform at the request of the European side, and Armenia, in turn, did not object to holding the 2028 summit in Baku.


Speaking about the current situation, the leader of Azerbaijan emphasized that the parties have been living in peaceful conditions for nine months and are beginning to reap its practical fruits. In this context, he particularly emphasized the launch of the “Trump Road”, which will connect Nakhichevan through the territory of Armenia and become a key part of the Middle Corridor.


The harsh statements of the President of Azerbaijan did not go unnoticed. Immediately after the speech, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Mezzola, asked for the right to vote. He reaffirmed that the European Parliament is a democratically elected body whose decisions are taken by the will of the legal majority. Mezzola emphasized that although the results of the European resolutions may create inconveniences for many, the structure will never change its working procedure and adopted democratic position.

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The appeal of the opposition to Europe. not to ignore the democratic retreat in Armenia

Photo: parliament.am

Parallel to the meeting of European leaders in Yerevan, the opposition forces are carrying out a protest action, calling on the international community to respond to the alleged violations of human rights in Armenia, the urgent problems of the return of Artsakh citizens and the release of prisoners.


Artur Khachatryan, deputy of the Armenia faction, stated in a conversation with journalists that they will urge European officials not to turn a blind eye to the “one-wheeled dictatorship” established in the country. According to the deputy, today there are dozens of political prisoners in Armenia who are imprisoned on illogical and fabricated charges. He emphasized that if Europe is really a friend of Armenia, then it cannot remain indifferent to this situation.


Referring to the perceptions of the political field, Khachatryan accused the current authorities of presenting the opposition as an agent of Russian influence and artificially privatizing the image of the advocate of democracy. The deputy assured that they too have always advocated building close relations with Europe.


The protesters’ agenda also includes the demands of ensuring the safe return of ethnically cleansed Artsakh citizens to their homeland and the release of prisoners held in Baku. The participants of the action are now moving towards the sports concert complex, in the adjacent area of ​​which additional police forces have been concentrated for security reasons.

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Armenia and Turkey have again agreed to restore the historical will of Ani

Լուսանկարը՝ Armradio.am

Within the framework of the high-level European summit in Yerevan, the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations was marked by the signing of an official document on the joint restoration of historical and cultural heritage on the bilateral border.


RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan informed on his social network page that on May 4, the protocol for the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge, which was once part of the Silk Road, located on the border of Armenia and Turkey, was signed. The document was ratified by Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kilic, special representatives for relations between the two countries.


The ceremony was held at a high political level. it was personally attended by the Prime Minister of Armenia and the Vice President of Turkey Cevdet Yilmaz, who arrived in the capital of Armenia to participate in the 8th Summit of the European Political Community.


Since 2023, Yerevan and Ankara have agreed on a joint project to restore this unique structure built on the Akhuryan River in the 10th-11th centuries.

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Arrested member of “Strong Armenia” Artur Avanesyan stopped his hunger strike

Photo: screenshot from the video

Artur Avanesyan, the head of the security team of the “Strong Armenia” party, arrested on charges of distributing election bribes, has stopped the protest hunger strike.


The former soldier, who is also known to the public by the nickname “Kandaz”, made this decision after the urging of the leader of the political force, Samvel Karapetyan. This information was officially confirmed to Azatutyun radio station by Armen Feroyan, the accused’s lawyer. Avanesyan took this extreme step of protest immediately after his arrest.


Currently, the party official, who is being held in the “Vardashen” penitentiary, is accused of bribing voters, but the latter categorically denies the charges and does not accept the guilt.

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Verelq: The West does not need Armenia, but its separation from Russia

Traveling merchants of European “values” once again gathered in Yerevan. With great solemnity, bold faces, and a standard package of diplomatic smiles, they came to explain to the Armenian people once again what a great “luck” we have had to become a geopolitical laboratory mouse. And in that background, a confession was heard from the lips of the French president, which, no matter how much it was wrapped in a civilized vocabulary, essentially exposed the very content of what was happening around Armenia.


Emmanuel Macron made an almost happy assessment, according to which eight years ago nobody would have come to Armenia, because it was seen as a “de facto satellite” of Russia, and now, after the “velvet revolution” of Nikol Pashinyan, the country has been “de-Parisianized” and has become acceptable.


Here is the whole truth, without unnecessary masks.


The West openly says that Armenia is valuable to the extent that it leaves Russia. Not so much as a state, not so much as an endangered nation, not so much as a region that has seen war and Genocide, not so much as an age-old civilization facing the danger of becoming a mere historical memory, but as an anti-Russian platform, as a political sign: “Look, we are taking another country out of Moscow’s influence.”


And Nikol Pashinyan’s government has become the perfect local operator of that program.


“De-Persianization”? no, the perfect risk incubator


“De-risking” from Macron’s lips is a classic example of political cynicism. What risk did Armenia get rid of?


Artsakh does not exist. 120 thousand Armenians were forcibly displaced from their homeland. Azerbaijan controls strategic heights. Borders have turned into an object of constant blackmail. Baku presents a new demand every week, from the Constitution to the “corridor”. Turkey continues the same pan-Turkist line, just more self-confident.


Is this the Frenchization?


This is the consequence of the multiplication of risks, the destruction of state immunity, and the conscious destruction of the security system. And it happened not by chance, but since the street performance of 2018 was presented as a “democratic rescue”, but in fact it became the start of external realignment.


Armenia was told to leave Russia, we will give you peace.
As a result, we got a country separated from Russia, but also deprived of peace.


This, Mr. Macron, is a crime committed against national security and the Republic of Armenia, not the “de-risking” you mentioned, the de-Frenchization.


And you, speaking on behalf of France and European values, not only give political patronage to that national disaster, but with your colored vocabulary you try to morally legitimize a crime, the consequences of which the Armenian people will suffer for decades.


Pashinyan turned Armenia into a testing ground for anti-Russian sentiment


The key and most dangerous feature of Pashinyan’s foreign policy is that this government long ago stopped considering Armenia’s own security and state problems as issues subject to primary solution. Instead, Armenia is gradually involved in such geopolitical processes, the agenda of which is formed not in Yerevan, but in external power centers.


In other words, the government does not try to keep Armenia away from the confrontations of great powers and the consequences of these conflicts, but on the contrary, it makes the country a territory used within these confrontations.


One of the main problems for the West today is to weaken Russia on as many fronts as possible. Ukraine is a military front, Georgia, Moldova – a political, energetic front, and Armenia is turning into a Caucasian strategic logistics front and an anti-Russian showpiece – a demonstrative example of a “former Russian ally that renounces Moscow”.


That is why European officials come to Yerevan one by one, praise the “reforms”, talk about “sovereignty”, “crossroads of peace”, “diversification”. Because it is not important for them whether Armenia is protected or not. It is important for Armenia to leave the Russian security system and politically place itself in the anti-Russian camp.


In other words, Pashinyan did not balance, but put the country in serious existential danger.


French “love” – ​​another soft pillow


The role of France is a separate topic. For years, this country was presented as an almost savior force for a part of the Armenian society. Every time, when Yerevan suffered another defeat, a beautiful announcement, an exciting speech, a parliamentary resolution was made from Paris, and an information bubble was inflated in Armenia: “here, France is with us”.


Let’s remember November 2020. The French Senate enthusiastically adopted a resolution calling for the recognition of Artsakh’s independence. Fiery speeches were heard in the hall: self-determination, justice, historical justice. The Armenian public was once again carried away by emotional self-deception.


And then? Then nothing.


There was no recognition, no political pressure, no practical step, no security mechanism. Because the purpose of that resolution was not to help the Armenians, but to influence the Armenians through false hope. In short, cheating.


And with the same high European patronage, the process of delegitimization of the tripartite document of November 9 began in 2022, the end result of which was the final handover of Artsakh.


In other words, first the Armenians were fed with the illusion of recognition, then the same Armenians were led to the path of renouncing Artsakh.


Yerevan has become a decoration, and Armenia has become a bargaining chip


Looking at the faces of these “friends” gathering in Yerevan today, one question arises. Who among them will answer for the Armenian people’s lost homeland, destroyed security, humiliated statehood?


Zelensky came to preach more sanctions against Russia.
Macron came to praise Pashinyan’s revolution and “independence” from Russia.
Other European officials came to preach about democracy and anti-Russian propaganda.


But none of them came to say how to rebuild Armenian security, how to prevent new Azerbaijani aggression, how to restore national dignity.


Because that is not their agenda.


Their agenda is as follows: to keep Armenia under their influence, to use it as a propaganda showcase against Moscow, and at the same time not to allow this society to soberly assess the price it pays for this “European attention”.


Epilogue:


For years, this government has convinced the public that anti-Russian rhetoric is sovereignty, Western smiles are security, and European summits are international success.


The reality is the opposite.


Armenia has never been so alone, so vulnerable, so under pressure.


And when Macron proudly says that Armenia is no longer a satellite of Russia, he is actually recording one thing: the country has been successfully removed from the former security zone, but has not yet entered any new protected system.


In other words, they left us in the open field.


Pashinyan presents that open field as independence. Europeans as a democratic achievement. And the people pay the price for it every day, with territory, rights, and future.


This is the whole picture.


Macron’s speech in Yerevan just accidentally raised what has been going on silently for a long time: Armenia has turned into an Armenian springboard for anti-Russianism, while it is being sold to the Armenian people as a project for peace, democracy and the future.


The irony of fate is that the price of such projects is always paid not by the planners, but by the people who have become the testing ground.


Աղբյուր՝ Armenian Public Tribunal

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