Armenia has no current plan to join NATO, according to Ararat Mirzoyan, who leads Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This stance reflects a careful balance between ongoing partnerships and strategic autonomy. Armenia maintains active collaboration with NATO on several fronts, including participation in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and scaling up its presence in Kosovo. This cooperative work is part of a broader security and stability framework that Armenia engages in with Western partners, even as it charts its own path in regional diplomacy. The question of membership, however, is not on Yerevan’s official agenda today, and officials emphasize that partnership does not equate to a pledge to join. [Source: Armenian MFA statement]
On March 29, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that a visa-free regime between Armenia and the European Union could trigger a significant outward migration of young people and could threaten national security. The remarks underscore the tension that sometimes arises between regional partners and external actors over globalization, mobility, and security policy. [Source: Russian MFA press release]
On the same day, Senator Andrei Klimov commented on a statement by Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan regarding Yerevan’s continued trend toward closer ties with the European Union. Klimov suggested that Armenia risks repeating the missteps he associates with Ukraine if it embraces the EU too eagerly. The exchange highlights the polarized viewpoints that shape Armenia’s foreign policy discourse, where aspirations for deeper European relations sit alongside concerns about regional stability and national sovereignty. [Source: Senator Klimov remarks]
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that the European Union mission in Armenia had effectively transformed into what he described as a NATO mission. These comments point to the ongoing debate about how Western security architecture is perceived in the South Caucasus and how such perceptions influence bilateral and regional dynamics. Armenia’s own assessments of EU and NATO involvement remain a topic of public and diplomatic interest, as various actors weigh the implications for security, autonomy, and alignment with global powers. [Source: Lavrov statement]