A CONVERSATION WITH PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA NIKOL PASHINYAN - The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center hosted a discussion featuring Nikol Pashinyan, prime minister of the Republic of Armenia, to discuss the path forward for Armenia amid geopolitical developments in the South Caucasus and the broader region.

Armenia has declared the normalization of relations with its neighbors, particularly Azerbaijan and Turkiye as a top priority of its foreign policy. As part of this policy Armenia and Azerbaijan continue negotiations centered around establishing lasting peace.

After Azerbaijan’s lightning military offensive in Karabakh in the fall of 2023, which resulted in all the Armenians living there to leave their homes, as well as an incursion into the sovereign territory of Armenia, it started to redefine its security landscape contending with past and present ties with its larger neighbor, Russia.

On January 1, 2025, Russia withdrew its some of its border guard troops from Armenia at the behest of the Armenian government. Armenia has also continued to engage with its other partners, particularly with the United States and those in the European Union, has conducted joint military drills with US forces, provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and suspended all its activities in the CSTO and confirmed the aspirations of its people in an EU membership. On January 14, the United States and Armenia elevated their relations to a Strategic Partnership level by signing a relevant Charter—a milestone in bilateral cooperation between the two countries, reflecting Armenia’s continued mission to expand economic and security cooperation to strengthen its democracy.

Pashinyan joined John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, to discuss the above and more.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 02/05/2025