The document on the strategic partnership signed between Armenia and the United States is an institutional mechanism that does not depend on the ruling political team in Washington or on various political factors in the United States.
In an interview with an Armenpress correspondent, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan said this, emphasizing that the Armenian-American strategic document signed in Washington on January 14, 2025, has significant political and practical significance. A bilateral strategic dialogue format was created during the previous administration of the new US President, Donald Trump.
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, raising Yerevan-Washington relations to a new level will allow the partnership with the current administration to start from a much more favorable and progressive position.
During the interview, Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan also touched upon the current geopolitical situation surrounding Armenia, Armenia-European Union, and Armenia-Russia relations, as well as the ongoing negotiation process between Yerevan and Baku on normalizing ties.
-Mr. Hovhannisyan, how would you assess the current geopolitical situation surrounding the Republic of Armenia, particularly in the regional context?
-The year began with very intensive processes related not only to the methods of the new administration assuming its duties in the United States but several other developments. It was noticeable that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was involved in several events to ensure Armenia's involvement from the year's first days. The year was notable for intensifying Armenian-American and Armenian-European Union relations—the Foreign Minister's visit to Washington and discussions with several European Union delegations in Yerevan. The year also started very actively on bilateral platforms. For the first time, we had the visit of the speakers of the parliaments of the Nordic-Baltic countries, which was an unprecedented format; it was preceded by the meeting of the Foreign Ministers with the Foreign Ministers of those countries in Malta at the end of 2024. The visit of the Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan took place, which we had not had for many years, and activity was also observed in several international organizations. The year and the geopolitical situation can be described as full of challenges but, at the same time, bringing new opportunities. To what extent will we manage to use these new opportunities? Time will tell, but we are sparing no effort in this regard, ensuring the interests of Armenia and trying to be active in all directions.
- In 2024, many important events took place in the foreign political life of Armenia. In this case, we are talking, for example, about the deepening and activation of the Armenia-EU partnership and the efforts made by the parties in this direction. Mr. Deputy Minister, how would you describe the current level of dialogue between Yerevan and Brussels? What processes are expected shortly: the economic sphere, EU observers in Armenia, whose mission was extended by Brussels a few days ago for another 2 years.
- We have never had such an intense period with the European Union. It began with the speech of the Prime Minister of Armenia in the European Parliament in October 2023, where it was announced that Armenia is ready to get closer to the European Union to the extent that the European Union is ready to do so. Supportive statements from the European Union followed this, and processes began to raise the level of our relations with the European Union. The main direction is the creation of a new partnership agenda, and these negotiations will be completed in the coming weeks. Still, in parallel with this, other essential developments also took place. You mentioned the security sphere. The European Union has never been such an important player for us. With the introduction of EU observers at our borders, new formats such as the political and security dialogue, which is a new mechanism, and other initiatives, the European Union is becoming a very important partner for us in the security sector. We should also mention the European Peace Facility, which we are already using, and the decision made in July 2024, along with another critical decision, which was to launch negotiations on the liberalization of the visa regime. We have been trying to ensure this for many years, and you know how reserved a group of partners are regarding issues related to the migration sector. Still, we managed to secure the adoption of that decision, and substantive negotiations on visa liberalization began in December. During that same year, we joined the Eurojust and Europol structures, which are essential tools for justice and the fight against crime. At the same time, very close cooperation continues with the European Parliament, and, of course, this year, we will sign a new partnership agreement agenda; we expect high-level visits to both Brussels and Yerevan. Of course, in that regard, this dynamic will be maintained and developed. The European Union continues to be our most significant donor and supporter in connection with the democratic processes. Our bilateral relations with several EU member states are developing quickly.
Extending the activities of the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia for another 2 years was a critical decision. The monitoring mission plays a significant role in ensuring our security. Monitoring our borders has not only contributed to reducing incidents but also increased the level of awareness in Brussels and European capitals significantly. Now, the situation is being viewed by a third, impartial observer. It also plays a significant role in improving the self-confidence of the population in our border regions. This mission also helps several of our projects regarding infrastructure activities. For example, the flight to Kapan airport is also monitored by observers.
We attach great importance to (ed. refers to the activities of EU observers in Armenia). We immediately responded at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and are ready to cooperate closely with the observers.
- Mr. Hovhannisyan, in addition to the expansion of Armenia-EU relations, the unprecedented development of Armenian-American relations is also noteworthy. In January of this year, Armenia and the United States signed a document on strategic partnership. What does this imply, and what expectations can Yerevan have from that document? How realistic is its implementation, considering the change in the US administration?
-Indeed, parallel with the European Union, the year was intense regarding the development of Armenian-American relations. Armenia and the United States had already raised the level of relations in 2019 and were working within the framework of the strategic dialogue format. And in June last year, within the framework of that dialogue, a decision was made to raise the level of relations to the level of strategic partnership and to create a strategic partnership commission. This was preceded by meetings of relevant working groups, perhaps in 2023. Throughout the summer, we had unprecedented visits from various delegations, starting with decentralized cooperation, several congressional visits, etc. Indeed, its culmination, its endpoint, was the signing of that document in Washington, the Charter of Strategic Partnership, which formalizes the increase in the level of relations. The document mentions four main directions in which cooperation and partnership should be deepened: economic collaboration, new opportunities opening up in trade diversification, and trade diversification and support for Armenia's resilience. The security and defense sector is essential: we had joint military exercises last year and the year before. During the signing, the support of the United States was also mentioned; the United States will further increase assistance to our border control capabilities and support in several other directions. The third direction is the spheres of democracy and justice. The United States has always been one of our essential partners in this regard, and support for Armenia has been a long-term process. The last direction is people-to-people contacts: we are talking about humanitarian, educational, cultural, and other programs, which are also crucial in the context of the traditional friendly relations between the two countries.
The document has both essential political and practical significance. You may ask: why with the outgoing administration? You know, that strategic dialogue and the creation of the format took place during the first administration of President Donald Trump, and these processes have nothing to do with the presence of a political team in Washington, this or that team. These are institutional mechanisms that do not directly depend on various political factors. On the contrary, raising relations to this level will allow us to start our partnership with the new administration from a much more favorable and progressive position. It is known that in the last month or two, a transition team was created in Washington, and, of course, both the outgoing administration and the new administration coordinated on all foreign and other vital issues, and it is natural that the signing of such documents was also coordinated with the new administration.
Several other decisions were also made there: this is the launch of negotiations in the energy sector, the talks on which, of course, will already take place with the new administration, and, naturally, they have been agreed upon.
Armenia also joined the alliance against the "Islamic State," which has always been one of the important directions of our joint fight against terrorism, and we are sure that this will also be the case with the new administration's cooperation will develop. This step aimed to continue our collaboration with the new administration on a much stronger basis. There was also a visit by the prime minister to Washington, and thanks to all these efforts, we will continue the unprecedented dynamics of the past year.
-The current level of Armenia-Russia relations: a few days ago, during the discussion of the draft law on starting the process of Armenia's membership in the EU in the National Assembly, you, speaking about relations between Yerevan and Moscow, mentioned that the negotiations between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov were constructive. In your opinion, what impact will this visit have on Armenian-Russian relations? Can we record positive developments in this regard?
-I don't have much to add here. Indeed, the meeting was crucial and had been prepared for a long time. It is not surprising that we have an extensive and comprehensive agenda with Russia, and this meeting showed the desire of both sides to have a working and practical approach to all issues. The Prime Minister stated that our desire is not to aggravate or worsen relations with any partner; on the contrary, our efforts are aimed at implementing a balanced foreign policy that ensures Armenia's interests, and, of course, that visit was precisely the evidence of that.
- Mr. Hovhannisyan, both in Russian official circles and in the Armenian expert field, noted that Armenia, being a member of the EAEU, cannot simultaneously join the EU. In these conditions, how does Armenia imagine contacts and partnerships with the two structures? Should Yerevan make a choice between these two structures?
-I have often heard the word impossible in different situations in my practice. The first time was the situation around SEPA (ed. I am talking about the "Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership" document signed between Armenia and the EU in 2017), when it seemed that, having joined the Eurasian Union, it would be impossible to have the prospect of any agreement with the European Union. Still, we were able to have a simplified version of that association agreement. The free trade part suffered, but 75% of the provisions of all the sectoral cooperation chapters were preserved, corresponding to European directives, standards, etc. The political and human rights chapters were almost entirely preserved, and SEPA was signed, entered into force in 2021, and is being implemented. The same approach was used with the European Peace Instrument and how a member of the Collective Security Organization could use that fund. Still, that decision was made in July of last year, and it is now one of the crucial tools for developing our defense capabilities. The same here: sometimes you need a more creative approach to processes. As we mentioned a little while ago, our approach here is to gradually develop cooperation with the European Union, using all programs and possible sectors. Especially in this reality, when it is not likely to have long-term programs, we must move with the narrative of using all opportunities as much as possible. When we have problematic situations, we will address them at that stage. Our approach is phased in this regard, and our rapprochement with the European Union has exactly that narrative. It is a complex process; it has corresponding stages, and at this time, the issue of what is compatible or incompatible is not yet on our agenda.
- Armenia and Azerbaijan have been negotiating the normalization of relations for a long time. Despite the existing difficulties, the agreed and unagreed articles of the potential agreement, and the frequent threats from Baku, Yerevan has always expressed its determination to bring these negotiations to a final peace agreement. Mr. Hovhannisyan, how would you characterize and assess the current course of the Yerevan-Baku negotiations, and do you consider it likely that a peace agreement can be signed in 2025?
- Naturally, we find it possible, which is why we continue our efforts. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister have recently addressed these processes. Here, I confirm that our approaches to finalizing the peace agreement, which we are very close to, and advancing the delimitation process, where we have positive dynamics and opening communications, are constructive and aimed at genuinely achieving sustainable peace. We also try not to react to the sometimes painful rhetoric coming from our neighboring country for only one reason: to maintain that process and, ultimately, to achieve peace in this region, which has suffered from conflicts for many years. This will also be our motto this year. We will spare no effort in that regard; we are working with all partners to support that process, and, of course, we must believe that we will achieve results.
-Thank you for the interesting interview.