European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has lined up a visit to Armenia next week, in a high-profile show of support for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following his party’s victory in this month’s parliamentary election.
The trip would see von der Leyen joined by Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos.
The visit was tentatively set for around July 1, though the arrangements had not been finalised. One EU source told Armenian outlet Azatutyun that von der Leyen would travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, on July 1 before heading to Yerevan on July 2-3.
It would be the Commission President’s second trip to Armenia in under two months. She was in Yerevan in May for the European Political Community summit and the inaugural EU-Armenia summit.
Brussels has steadily increased its political and financial backing for Yerevan as the country’s relations with Moscow have deteriorated. Last week the EU disbursed €34 million to help offset the impact of new Russian restrictions on Armenian exports and to support efforts to divert trade towards European markets.
Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party secured a decisive win in the June 7 election, a vote widely cast as a test of Armenia’s geopolitical direction. The Commission had endorsed him days before the ballot and announced a support package framed as a response to Russian economic pressure.
An EU official, granted anonymity, said the message of the trip would be that “Europe is here for you”. The same official said the country had faced sustained pressure from Russia and that a visit would send a strong signal of support.
Pashinyan has accelerated Armenia’s turn westward since the 2023 exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, suspending participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and voicing interest in eventual EU membership.
He has nonetheless sought to avoid an open rupture with Moscow, describing Armenia’s membership bid as “theoretical” during the campaign and insisting Yerevan would not act against Russia’s interests.
The Kremlin has pressed Armenia to clarify whether it intends to remain in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. Russia’s foreign ministry has cast Yerevan’s approach to the EU as an attempt to reorient itself at others’ expense.
