Armenia plans EU bid, rules out renewed role in Russia-led bloc

YEREVAN

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his government plans to begin work on a formal application for European Union membership and will not resume active participation in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) over the next five years.

Addressing parliament on Aug. 24 during debate on his government’s 2026-2031 program, Pashinyan said the CSTO had not addressed the security concerns raised by Yerevan.

“It is clearly stated in our program that we have no plans to return to the CSTO over the next five years. I can say with certainty that we will not step up our activities in the CSTO,” he said.

Pashinyan said discussions were underway within the alliance about potentially expelling Armenia and that he would welcome such an outcome.

“I would be very happy if the organization decided to expel Armenia from the CSTO. It would free us from the dilemma of whether or not to withdraw,” he said.

Armenia froze its participation in the six-member security alliance in early 2024 but remains a formal member.

Turning to the country’s European ambitions, Pashinyan said Yerevan must first submit an official application before determining whether EU membership is achievable.

“Armenia must first submit an official application for EU membership,” he said, adding that preparations would probably begin “in the near future.”

Pashinyan said Yerevan would assess Brussels’ response and prepare an accession road map before putting the issue to a referendum. Armenia’s parliament adopted legislation in 2025 launching the EU accession process, but the country has yet to file a formal application.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Armenia was free to leave the CSTO if it no longer considered membership necessary.

On the proposed EU application, Peskov pointed to Türkiye and other countries whose accession processes have continued for decades.

He also said aligning Armenian legislation with EU trade, customs and food safety rules would create conflicts with the standards of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia remains a member.

Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won 49.7 percent of the vote in Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election and retained its majority, allowing it to form a government alone.

Russia imposed restrictions on a range of Armenian agricultural products and beverages before the vote, citing sanitary and phytosanitary violations.

The European Union described the measures as “economic coercion,” while Moscow denied that they were politically motivated.

Separately, former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and his eldest son, Sedrak, were detained on Aug. 25 as part of a corruption investigation, the Prosecutor General’s Office said.

Four other people were also detained.

Prosecutors opened proceedings against Kocharyan on suspicion of abuse of authority, bribery and large-scale money laundering. Investigators are examining allegations that state-owned buildings and land were sold below market value to private companies during his presidency from 1998 to 2008.

Kocharyan, who leads the opposition Armenia Alliance, has denied wrongdoing. His allies described the investigation as politically motivated.