Yerevan, ArmeniaAP —
Armenians are voting in parliamentary elections on Sunday as the current government, under increasing pressure from Russia, seeks to ease ties with Russia and deepen cooperation with the West.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the ruling Private Contract Party are seeking greater powers for a new geopolitical course. The opposition parties they face include vocally pro-Russian political parties.
Pashinyan voted Sunday and said Armenia would continue to strengthen its independence, statehood, democracy and rule of law. “The European Union is our key partner in implementing democratic reforms and we will continue on that path,” he said.
However, he also stressed that there were no tensions between Armenia and Moscow, saying that “relations with Russia are institutional and based on mutual respect,” Armenpress news agency reported.
Russian officials have conducted a barrage of restrictions on Armenian exports in recent weeks, while senior officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already followed by Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the day before the vote, Armenian investigative authorities announced that they had issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia Party on charges of buying votes. The country’s Central Election Commission confirmed on Saturday that the party could run after another opposition party, the Republic MP, called for the exclusion of powerful Armenia over corruption charges.
Armenia’s parliament, the National Assembly, must consist of at least 101 members elected for five-year terms. To win a seat, a party must win at least 4% of the vote, and a bloc of three or more parties must reach 8%.
Two political blocs and 17 political parties are participating in Sunday’s election. Most pollsters and experts expect Mr. Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 after massive street protests, to gain the upper hand.
“I think that Armenians, first and foremost, are looking forward to this election for the kind of peaceful, independent and prosperous Armenia that we see today,” said outgoing parliament member of civil contract Hripsime Grigorian.
Pashinyan has spoken several times about the need for a balanced foreign policy that would allow Armenia to maintain good relations with the United States, Europe, Russia, and even regional powers such as Turkey and Iran.
Nevertheless, Pashinyan has attracted much more enthusiasm in the West than in Moscow. He has the support of not only US President Donald Trump but also several European leaders.
“My great friend and leader, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, is making Armenia strong, prosperous, and very safe,” Trump wrote on social media, calling on Armenians to “make[Armenia]great again.”
This displeased the Kremlin. After Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9, President Putin told reporters that if the Armenian people think there are benefits to joining the European Union, “we definitely have nothing to say against it.”
Still, he reminded reporters, “We’re going through everything that’s going on with Ukraine right now. And how did it start? It started with Ukraine joining or trying to join the European Union.”
Unlike the Civil Contract Party, most of Armenia’s opposition parties support stronger ties with Moscow.
Armenia’s powerful party seeks to develop business ties with Russia and accuses Pashinyan of trying to start a war with Moscow. Party leader Samber Karapetyan is on trial for advocating overthrow of the government, a case the Armenian-Russian billionaire rejects as politically motivated. He has been coordinating the party’s election campaign under house arrest with the support of his nephew Narek Karapetyan.
Other potential candidates include former president Robert Kocharyan, who heads the Hayastan bloc and has accused Pashinyan of “seriously damaging” relations with Russia, and the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by pro-Russian businessman Gagik Tsarukyan.
These parties have also strongly criticized Mr. Pashinyan, who is trying to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. In August, Armenian leader and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev worked with President Trump at the White House to draft a document on moves toward a peace agreement.
The two countries have been embroiled in a decades-long conflict over the fate of the breakaway region Karabakh, which has been controlled for decades by Armenian-backed ethnic Armenian forces. Azerbaijan captured the entire Karabakh region in a rapid offensive in 2023.
“I hope this government changes because the situation in our country is deteriorating,” Sahakyan Elina, a supporter of the Prosperous Armenia Party, told The Associated Press at a rally Thursday. “I don’t want to live in union with the enemy.”
Russian authorities have imposed new restrictions on Armenian agricultural products for a parliamentary vote, banning imports of Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplants, potatoes, dried fruit and fish.
Russia claims the ban is related to violations of agricultural import regulations.
The European Commission on Thursday called the move “nothing more than economic coercion.”
“By expanding export controls on Armenian products, Moscow is weaponizing economic ties for political pressure. We are well aware of this strategy,” the commission said in a statement.
Moscow also controls much of Armenia’s energy and infrastructure and provides cheap gas, a point Putin was quick to emphasize in his talks with Pashinyan.
Putin also stressed that Armenia cannot join the EU or remain within the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian-led customs bloc.
“It is impossible to form a customs union with the European Union or the Eurasian Economic Union,” Putin said. “By definition, that’s just not possible.”
