Armenia’s ex-president Kocharyan says Armenia must avoid the EU if it wants sovereignty

Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan has told reporters that Armenia should ‘stay away from the EU’ if the country wants to maintain its sovereignty as a priority.

In an interview with several media outlets on 19 May, Kocharyan suggested that the EU has the European Commission, which ‘has the ability to punish, fine, and impose certain things on member states’.

Instead, he suggested that Yerevan should foster ties with Moscow, by ‘restor[ing] strategic partnership with Russia’, saying that Armenia was unable to independently ensure its security in the region. Kocharyan also noted that there should be an added ‘Iranian component’ to form a trilateral partnership with Armenia and Russia.

According to interview highlights shared by Kocharyan’s official Facebook page, he accused the Armenian authorities of promoting ‘false narratives’ regarding Russia using ‘the entire propaganda machine’.

‘The main goal is to foster anti-Russian sentiments and sow distrust towards Russia’, Kocharyan said.

In early May, Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan said that ‘a hybrid war is being waged against Armenia’ by Russia and ‘warn[ed]’ that the war would ‘become even more active in 2026’, when Armenia will hold its parliamentary election.

He additionally accused Kocharyan of ‘having a status of a Russian spy in Armenia’ and of ‘pursuing Russian interests and rendering services only in that direction’.

Armenian parliamentary speaker says Russia is waging ‘a hybrid war’ against Armenia

The statement came on the same day that the same official met with the Russian Ambassador to Armenia.

OC MediaArshaluys Barseghyan

Simonyan’s statement came as Armenia–Russia relations appear to be warming following their freefall after Armenia accused Russia and its Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) of inaction in the face of Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia in 2021 and 2022.

Armenia has also cited the inaction of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, when Azerbaijan besieged the region for nine months and forced it to surrender with a lightning offensive in September 2023.

Addressing the crises of bilateral ties, Kocharyan cast the blame on the authorities in Armenia for Russia’s lack of support against Azerbaijan. He suggested that Azerbaijan’s occupation of Armenian territories should have been resolved through bilateral ties between Armenia and Russia, and not through the CSTO.

‘You are ruining relationships with the country that forms the backbone of the CSTO, and then you say that the CSTO did not help us’, Kocharyan said.

Instead of Armenia being the ‘aggrieved’ party, Kocharyan said it should be Russia. He cited the signing of the document in Prague as the reason, which led to ‘neutralising Russia's role as a mediator’.

Kocharyan was referring to Pashinyan’s recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in October 2022 in Prague.

Kocharyan insists ‘loss’ of Nagorno-Karabakh was due to Armenia’s betrayal of Russia

The former Armenian president also suggested that Armenia is moving away from Russia at a time when the country is gaining strength.

OC MediaArshaluys Barseghyan

Kocharyan also blamed Armenia for its deteriorating relations with Belarus, saying that during his presidency, ‘Belarus has never taken any actions that could have caused our dissatisfaction’.

According to Kocharyan, Armenians developed a negative attitude towards Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka after his visit to Shusha (Shushi) in May 2024, which he said was currently ‘being fully exploited’.

In June 2024, Pashinyan declared that no Armenian officials would visit Belarus while Lukashenka was in power, due to the latter’s support for Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Shortly after, Politico published a report based on leaked documents detailing the alleged supply of advanced military hardware from Belarus to Azerbaijan between 2018 and 2022.

Armenian Catholicos consecrates church in Belarus despite tensions between Yerevan and Minsk

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has had a rocky relationship with the Armenian Apostolic Church.

OC MediaXandie (Alexandra) Kuenning