European Summit Gets Underway in Yerevan

Most of the participants will attend a separate summit between the EU and Armenia on Tuesday. According to a draft of its concluding statement seen by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, the EU leaders will pledge to continue “bringing Armenia closer to the European Union” but stop short of promising the South Caucasus nation’s eventual membership in the 27-nation bloc. Nor does the document promise additional economic assistance to Yerevan.

The EU’s foreign and security policy chief, Kaja Kallas, would not be drawn on Armenia’s membership prospects. She indicated only that they depend on the outcome of the Armenian parliamentary elections slated for June 7.

“Armenia is making their own decisions and in Armenia we have elections coming in two months,” Kallas told journalists in Yerevan. “So the European perspective is also on the table. But eventually the Armenians will decide.”

Amid heightened tensions with Russia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government enacted last year a law calling for the “start of a process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union.” Russian officials have since repeatedly warned that Armenia risks paying a heavy price for this policy. Moscow stepped up those warnings in the run-up to the Yerevan summits. Zelenskyy’s arrival in the Armenian capital could only add to the Russian-Armenian tensions.

The summits are seen by the Armenian opposition as a show of Western support for Pashinyan ahead of the upcoming elections. In a weekend statement, the Hayastan alliance, one of the main opposition election contenders, accused the EU of effectively meddling in “Armenia’s internal political processes.”

“We regret to note that statements made by representatives of the European Union’s executive branch only increase our concerns that the manipulative actions of the Armenian authorities appear to be receiving European support,” it said in a statement.