Armenia's Pashinyan Says Yerevan Will Apply for EU Membership "In the Near Future"
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The Facts
- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Armenia's parliament on Monday that the country will begin the process of applying for EU membership "in the near future."
- Pashinyan said Armenia must first submit a formal EU membership application before preparing a roadmap for a referendum on accession.
- The announcement came as Pashinyan presented the government's 2026-2031 program to the National Assembly.
- Armenia is a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
- Pashinyan cited a May 29 joint statement by EAEU leaders calling on Armenia to hold a referendum on EU membership as soon as possible.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by pointing to Türkiye's EU application, which has remained unresolved for decades.
- Pashinyan said he would be "very happy" if the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization expelled Armenia.
- Peskov said Armenia is free to leave the CSTO if membership no longer serves its national interests.
- Pashinyan said a change in Armenia's relations with Russia is inevitable, linking it to peace with Azerbaijan and normalization with Türkiye.
- No date has been announced for either the EU application or the referendum.
Context
What are the EAEU and the CSTO, and what is Armenia's status in them?
The Eurasian Economic Union is a Russia-led trade bloc that counts Armenia as a member, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a Russia-led military alliance Pulse24.com …,NEWS.am. Armenian officials have said CSTO membership is frozen but that Armenia has not withdrawn, and Pashinyan told parliament his government will not resume active participation over the next five years NEWS.am,KyivPost. Russia also maintains a military base in Armenia Pulse24.com ….
Why is Armenia moving toward the EU now?
Armenia is formally allied with Moscow but has been building ties with the EU for years amid frustration over what Yerevan sees as Russia's failure to protect it during conflicts with Azerbaijan Pulse24.com …. Pashinyan said Armenia's rapprochement with the EU has caused concern in Russia and that his government is adopting a "balanced and balancing" foreign policy as strategy NEWS.am. He also said Russian restrictions on Armenian goods exports contradict EAEU rules NEWS.am.
What do Russian officials say the consequences would be?
Peskov said that after applying, Armenia would have to align its legislation with EU standards across trade, customs and phytosanitary rules, creating contradictions inside the EAEU TASS. Russian Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev said Armenia will never join the EU but will damage relations with Russia and other EAEU states NEWS.am. Russian outlet Izvestia argued that EU membership and full trade relations would take years or decades NEWS.am.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both read the same sequence — application first, referendum roadmap later, CSTO ties loosening — as consequential, and neither treats EU membership as anything close to assured.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about Armenia refusing to let the bloc it is leaving set its voting timetable, or about a small state loosening security guarantees before a replacement exists.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is time-horizon: both sides read the same unfixed calendar, but one treats sovereignty as exercised in the deciding, the other counts nothing as gained until a replacement guarantee is actually in force.
- Watch for
- Watch the EU-Armenia visa liberalisation talks, targeted for completion by 2029, and the implementation on Armenian territory of the TRIPP route agreed at the August 8, 2025 Washington summit — deliverables datable independently of any referendum.OC Media, armenpress.am, Public Radio of Armenia
How left and right read it
A country's alignment should be settled by its own citizens, on its own schedule — not by the bloc it is trying to leave. That is why the sequencing matters: Pashinyan wants the formal application filed before a referendum roadmap is drawn, whereas EAEU leaders' May 29 statement pressed Armenia to vote as soon as possible. The pressure runs one way. Yerevan owes no one else that timetable.
A small state's first duty is holding its existing security arrangements until something better is actually in hand, not merely applied for. Yet Pashinyan wants the formal EU application filed before any referendum roadmap is even drawn, and says he would be "very happy" if the CSTO expelled Armenia — while Peskov answers that Armenia is free to leave and points to Türkiye's application, unresolved for decades. What replaces what is surrendered?
The receipts — all 84 sources
Wire services (1)
Independent coverage (50)
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