The Armenian Parliament voted on Wednesday, March 26, to launch the candidacy of this Caucasus country to the European Union (EU). This former ally of Russia seeks to get closer to the West. Adopted last reading with 64 votes (those of civil contract deputies, the ruling party) against seven, the text calls on the Armenian government to launch the EU membership process.
For a year and a half, this former Soviet Republic has multiplied the gestures of distrust of Russia, a historic ally which has long sold her weapons and still has a military base on Armenian territory. Armenia criticizes Moscow its lack of support against Azerbaijan, which has completely reconquered by force, in the fall of 2023the Azerbaijanic region with a majority of Armenian of Karabakh, controlled for three decades by separatists.
Russian peacekeeping soldiers deployed in Karabakh did not intervene during this Azerbaijani offensive to enforce a cease-fire concluded at the end of 2020 between Bakou and Erevan after a six-week war. The resumption of all karabakh by Azerbaijan forced more than 100,000 Armenians to flee this territory, for fear of atrocities. Since then, Erevan has distanced himself from Moscow.
CPI membership
At the end of January 2024, Armenia officially joined the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite the Russian warnings, and it is now required to stop Vladimir Putin if he sets foot in Armenian territory, under an ICC arrest warrant issued against the Russian president in March 2023.
A permanent Russian military base is still on Armenian territory, in Gumri, and Erevan remains a member of the organization of the collective security treaty, a military alliance led by Moscow. In February 2024, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian nevertheless said that Armenia had frozen “In practice” His participation in this alliance.
In July 2024, Armenia also welcomed joint military exercises with the United States.
In March, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced that he had heard about a “Peace agreement” To settle their decades of conflict. The text, the fruit of very long and complex negotiations, in particular on the demarcation of borders, has not yet been signed.
Source: Lemonde