Armenia is considering applying for European Union membership, foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Friday, as it seeks to forge closer ties with the West in the face of tensions with traditional ally Russia.
\n\u201cMany new opportunities are largely being discussed in Armenia nowadays and that will not be a secret if I say that includes membership in the European Union,\u201d Mirzoyan said in an interview with Turkey\u2019s TRT World television station.
\nHe was speaking on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast.
\nSince coming to power in a 2018 revolution, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has deepened Armenia\u2019s ties with Europe and the United States, repeatedly drawing the ire of traditional ally Russia.
\nYerevan has repeatedly said that its alliance with Moscow does not stretch to the war in Ukraine, while Pashinyan has accused Russia of seeking to undermine his government.
\nArmenia also accuses Russia of failing to defend it against long-standing rival Azerbaijan, which has drawn closer to Moscow in recent years.
\n(Reuters)European Union. Armenia, European Union membership, closer ties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Armenia is considering applying for European Union membership, according to Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. This consideration is part of Armenia’s efforts to strengthen its ties with the West amidst tensions with Russia. Since the 2018 revolution that brought Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power, Armenia has been enhancing its relationships with Europe and the United States. Armenia’s alliance with Russia does not extend to the conflict in Ukraine, and Pashinyan has accused Russia of attempting to undermine his government. Additionally, Armenia criticizes Russia for not defending it against Azerbaijan, a country that has been growing closer to Moscow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1134,1136,3,379,201,1135,415,1004,19,468,177,17,544,293,18],"class_list":["post-3601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-armenia","tag-closer-ties","tag-cyprus","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european-union-membership","tag-government","tag-power","tag-russia","tag-tensions","tag-turkey","tag-ukraine","tag-united-states","tag-war","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n