00:15, 10 May 2026

The referendum is called a condition for the "divorce" of Moscow and Yerevan.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, the Armenian government supported the idea of holding a referendum on joining the European Union, however, Pashinyan called for no hasty steps. The press secretary of the Russian president recalled that it will not be possible to be in the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union simultaneously. EU standards imply joining anti-Russian sanctions, the Russian Foreign Minister stated. Combining Armenia's course towards rapprochement with the EU and membership in the Eurasian Economic Union is "impossible by definition," Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Nikol Pashinyan in the Kremlin. He also stated that Moscow would like to see all pro-Russian political forces allowed to participate in the parliamentary elections in Armenia.

In December 2025, Armenia and the EU signed a strategic partnership agenda. The country agreed to develop relations with the bloc in the areas of democracy and the rule of law, justice reform, human rights, and socio-economic development. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas announced that the EU will allocate €15 million to strengthen Armenia's resilience ahead of the parliamentary elections in the republic in June 2026. EU High Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos previously stated that the strategic partnership agenda envisages support that promotes Armenia's economic development and strengthens institutions. The new partnership agenda will also include defense and security cooperation, the publication reported. Armenpress.

Armenia's plans to join the EU require "special consideration," and Yerevan receives "significant advantages" within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.

"This concerns agriculture, this concerns the processing industry, this concerns customs and other duties, this concerns the migration sphere," RBK quotes him as saying.

In his opinion, Armenia should decide on its participation in the EU or the EAEU as soon as possible. "For example, hold a referendum. It's not our business, but it would be entirely logical to hold a referendum and ask Armenian citizens what their choice would be. "According to this, we would draw the appropriate conclusions and pursue a gentle, intelligent, and mutually beneficial divorce," the president said.

Putin did not rule out discussing the republic's plans for EU membership at the next EAEU summit.

"We simply need to say in a timely manner what we will do. There's nothing special here. We need to calculate everything. Both the Armenian side and we need to calculate it," he said.

"Our trade turnover with Armenia has declined now; last year and the year before it was much higher, but it will still be $7 billion by 2025. If we bear in mind that the country's GDP is $29 billion, then this is a serious figure," TASS quotes Putin as saying.

As a reminder, the eighth summit of the European Political Community was held in Yerevan on May 4 with the participation of about 50 delegations at the level of heads of state and structures. At the same time, on May 4 and 5, the first Armenia-EU summit was held in the capital of Armenia, at which the European Union was represented by the President of the European Council António Costa and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Armenian and Karabakh public organizations and parties called on the EU representatives who arrived in Yerevan to promote the preservation of cultural values in Karabakh and the protection of the rights of refugees. The first Armenia-EU summit, which ended in Yerevan, gave opposition political forces in Armenia a reason to accuse Nikol Pashinyan of pre-election manipulations, and the Moscow media - of "betrayal" and an anti-Russian course.

Nikol Pashinyan. Photo: https://armeniatoday.am/armenia-ru/986012/

Pashinyan cited the election campaign as the reason for his refusal to attend the parade in Moscow

The Armenia-EU summit dealt only with general issues and did not touch upon topics important to Yerevan, in particular Karabakh refugees and prisoners of war. Nevertheless, it clearly demonstrated that the current government is taking real steps towards the country's European integration, which could be important for voters in the parliamentary elections, Russian and Armenian analysts noted.

Seventeen parties and two blocs have been admitted to the parliamentary elections. Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia," along with Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" bloc and the Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia is one of the most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections. The Kremlin is backing Karapetyan, but he is legally ineligible to participate, Armenian political scientists previously noted. The Caucasian Knot prepared a report titled "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia."

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423119