The idea of membership in the European Union is “actively discussed” in Armenia, the country’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in an interview with the Turkish TV channel TRT World.
“Taking into account all the challenges that we have been forced to confront over the past three to four years, existing new opportunities are being actively discussed in Armenia. I won’t reveal a secret if I say that in this series there is also the idea of EU membership,” Mirzoyan said.
The minister emphasized that Yerevan is deepening relations with the EU and the United States, “looking towards the East,” building relations with India, and also seeking to “regulate relations with its neighbors.” According to Mirzoyan, the people of Armenia “have a European aspiration.” “As I already said, we are going through a process and we will see what its outcome will be. At the moment, no one can be sure or predict the end of this process,” said the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
As Hraparak wrote, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke in early March about plans to submit Armenia’s application to join the EU no later than the fall of 2024. He explained that the security interests of the republic “demand to become stronger, if not militarily, then at least economically.”
After the escalation of the armed conflict with Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan criticized Russia for not providing adequate support to Armenia. In February 2024, the authorities announced the freeze of Armenia's membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). In March, the authorities of the republic sent an official letter to Russia about the cessation of the work of the border service of the FSB of the Russian Federation at Yerevan Zvartnots airport.
