By Lia Avagyan
Neither Armenia nor the European Union knows where their deepening relationship will ultimately lead, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Tuesday, despite Yerevan’s adoption of a law declaring the start of an EU accession process.
Speaking during a panel at the Warsaw Security Forum on October 13, Mirzoyan said cooperation was expanding, while the question of eventual membership remained open.
“I believe no one knows,” he said when asked about the final destination of Armenia’s European path, adding that the uncertainty extended to Armenia, the EU and its member states.
Mirzoyan said serious discussion of EU membership had only recently begun in Armenia and had yet to involve extensive public deliberation. He also said he was not confident the EU had decided to admit Armenia in the immediate future.
Armenia’s parliament approved the legislation on March 26, 2025, following a public initiative that collected 60,000 signatures. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan supported the measure but cautioned that it did not constitute a formal membership application, saying that the decision would require a nationwide referendum.
Mirzoyan described Armenia’s relations with the EU as deeper and broader than ever, encompassing trade, security and foreign policy as well as political dialogue.
He cited the visa liberalization dialogue, the EU monitoring mission along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, support through the European Peace Facility and a new EU mission helping Armenia address hybrid threats. Recent EU trade measures were also intended to help Armenia diversify its trade destinations, he said.
Several of these initiatives had been extended to Armenia despite its lack of EU candidate status, he added.
Armenia’s regional relationships were another factor shaping its European ambitions, Mirzoyan said, pointing to unresolved issues with Azerbaijan, the continued closure of the Turkish border and the difficult situation surrounding Iran.
He said Armenia also needed to manage Russia’s possible reaction to closer European integration, given the historically close relationship and continuing strong ties between the two countries.
“No one wants to create new enemies in the world,” he said.
Mirzoyan added that Georgia’s continued EU integration would make Armenia’s own European trajectory easier.
In separate opening remarks at a roundtable on the EU’s Eastern Partnership, Mirzoyan called for a more flexible framework accommodating partner countries’ differing European ambitions. He pointed to a new Armenia-EU Strategic Agenda adopted in December 2025 and the first bilateral summit in May 2026 as signs of the relationship’s growing scope.
For now, Mirzoyan told the panel, his impression was that Armenia and the EU, including its member states, were enjoying the process of developing closer ties and exploring new opportunities.
“At some point in the future,” he said, “we will discuss whether we should marry or not.”
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