The European Union is actively trying to push Armenia away from Russia, as reported by La Vanguardia from Brussels. The EU side held what has been defined as a "historic first bilateral summit" with the Asian country, signing a connectivity declaration and identifying the territory as "a strategic bridge between Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia".
The pro-European shift in Armenia is becoming a significant political and geopolitical problem. On the one hand, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had requested EU accession, which angered Moscow. On the other, Armenia still depends heavily on Russia financially, remains in the EEU (the Eurasian Economic Union), and still hosts a Russian military base.
To compensate for the latter, the EU plans to back the rapprochement with an economic injection, security services, and strategic investment. Specifically, according to the report Brussels promises €270 million over four years, but expects to mobilise €2.5 billion in private money, together with the approval of a civilian mission to help Armenia deal with threats, especially the Russian.
The summit and the news come after early 2026's US civil nuclear deal with Armenia and just days after Zelenskyy accused Israel of legitimising Russian looting.