Pashinyan and Mirzoyan on Armenia’s EU membership bid, EAEU exit and Democrats’ stance on TRIPP
Armenia may formally apply to start the EU accession process in 2027 or 2028, but is not preparing to leave the Eurasian Economic Union, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a briefing on 5 November. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ararat Mirzoyan confirmed the same horizon at a separate briefing on the same day and said he did not expect the Democrats’ midterm win in the US to slow the TRIPP project.
Asked about his remarks in Brussels (an interview with Euronews at the EU Enlargement Summit on 3 November), Pashinyan said: “We have started preparing, as we promised our people, an alternative, so that the people can make a decision. We are not going to leave the EAEU.” There is “currently no subject for a referendum”, he said; certain procedures must be completed first. “It is obvious to me that the process is leading to us formally applying in 2027 or 2028 to start the process of full EU membership, especially since we have a law in force,” he added, referring to the 2025 law on launching the EU accession process.
Pashinyan said the government had studied the four EAEU countries’ report on the consequences of suspending the EAEU Treaty for Armenia and “disagrees with a significant part of its conclusions”; objections will be passed to partners through working channels.
Mirzoyan said Yerevan is trying to move “in sync” with the EU: “If we want to join, how ready are the 27 member states to respond positively? It would be childish to take such steps without warm signals and preliminary talks.”
On the US, Mirzoyan said: “I cannot imagine that Democrats in the United States would not want TRIPP to be implemented very quickly.” He cited memoranda on transport, logistics and artificial intelligence and the Firebird AI data centre built within a year. On the CSTO, he said Armenia’s participation “has long been frozen”, the charter has no mechanism to expel a member, and Yerevan sees no way back. On 4 November CSTO Secretary General Talaatbek Masadykov said the Collective Security Council may consider applying Article 25 of the charter to Armenia. On Turkey, Mirzoyan said the opening of the border and diplomatic relations “could take place at any moment”.
Context in figures
| Indicator (Jan–Sep 2026) | Value (share) | Year earlier (share) | Change y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade with the EU | $2.68bn (17.9%) | $1.80bn (12.4%) | +49.1% |
| Exports to the EU | $717.2m (13.9% of exports) | $474.5m (8.4%) | +51.2% |
| Trade with Russia | $4.02bn (26.8%) | $4.98bn (34.2%) | −19.4% |
| Trade with the EAEU (incl. Russia) | $4.30bn (28.8%) | $5.21bn (35.8%) | −17.4% |
| Trade with the US | $359.6m (2.4%) | $264.4m (1.8%) | +36.0% |
| Trade with China | $2.57bn (17.2%) | $1.88bn (12.9%) | +36.2% |
| Total trade | $14.95bn | $14.56bn | +2.7% |
The report by Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia (due before the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in December) estimates the effect of an exit at −15.6% of GDP, a gas price rise from $177.5 to $300 per 1,000 m³ and a 65.8% fall in exports to the EAEU. On 28 October parliament ratified the TRIPP framework agreement by 63 votes to 32.
For more on the reliability of the four-country report’s figures and Armenia’s development prospects outside the EAEU, assuming TRIPP is built, the border opens and ties with the EU deepen, read the BusinessDaily article.
