Armenia Is Pivoting Away from Russia As Pro-West Premier Nikol Pashinyan Wins Election

Nikol Pashinyan —The journalist-turned politician Nikol Pashinyan has been serving as Armenian prime minister since 2018. He was born on June 1, 1975, Ijevan, Armenia. The ex-publisher of “Armenian Times” rose to power in 2016 by playing the pivotal role as the leader of the 2018 Armenian Revolution.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan secured a victory in elections. Now they have started to pivot away from Russia and expand relations with the European Union.

Pashinyan`s centrist Civil Contract Party received 49.8% of the vote with the Strong Armenia Alliance coming in second with 23.2%. Then 9.9% of the vote was for the Armenia Alliance which got a third of the vote.

This was perceived as a test for the prime minister, while facing economic pressure from Russia due to being a traditional ally and trading partner, to deepen ties with the West.

He promised peace with its neighbor Azerbaijan after the country`s loss in the Karabakh conflict in 2023 that resulted with most of the Armenian population in that region leaving for Armenia.

Now Russia has issued sweeping bans on Armenian imports after Pashinyan`s victory. Seeds, flowers, fertilizer and wood will now face import restrictions. The sweeping ban was a response to a “systematic detection” of pests in products coming from Armenian products since May. 

According to the Moscow Times, “Freshly banned goods include fresh and dried fruits, fresh and chilled vegetables, grains, cereals, grain-derived products, coffee and cocoa beans. The embargo also covers live plants, fresh cut flowers, planting seeds and plants used for pharmaceuticals and perfumery.”

Armenia is part of the Eurasian Economic Union, which is a partnership between Eastern European and Central Asian countries like Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Russia is planning on blocking the transit through those territories. 

But even though Russia claims that the restrictions are due to safety and health concerns, these measures strongly resemble economic pressure campaign to Yerevan, Armenia`s capital city. Russia has also accused the West of interfering with elections in Armenia. 

Russia supplies Armenia with gas worth around U.S Dollar 177.50 per 1,000 meters. President of Russia Vladimir Putin compared that to the European market which exceeds U.S. Dollar 600.

Furthermore, Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe. In 2024, a resolution was passed that the country could apply for membership within the European Union. 

But if Armenia was to join the EU, they would have to leave the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and demand they hold a referendum “as soon as possible” to make their decision.

President Putin stated that the country cannot be a member of both Unions. Prime Minister Pashinyan has been in power since 2018 and has been trying to pursue membership with the European Union along with fostering closer ties with the United States with U.S. President Donald Trump congratulating him on the victory. 

President of Turkiye, Recip Tayip Erdogan congratulated Pashinyan on his victory as well. Armenia is also planning to have peace with Turkey with plans to reopen the border with Turkey. There are plans for road and railway communication to open in the future. It could have been welcomed by the EU and the U.S. 

In addition, Russia is also welcoming the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkiye relations. The Turkish foreign minister is planning to visit Russia and the Russian Foreign Minister is planning on visiting Turkiye.

Pashinyan expressed that they now have peace with Azerbaijan and a close relationship with Georgia. Normalizing relations with Turkiye with diplomatic relations being established will change the region and expand transportation routes benefiting Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkiye, and Iran. 

There is also an upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, the capital with Erdogan planning to use this summit to convene and remain on the sidelines. This meeting also will have President Trump meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan and Azerbaijan Prime Minister Ilham Aliyev with the goal to prevent the peace process from stagnating.

Last year, President Trump had sat with leaders of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty that will include a corridor connecting the territory of Nakhchivan in western Azerbaijan to the rest of the country.

Nakhchivan borders Iran and Turkiye to the west and Armenia to the east.