Day: January 19, 2026

The United States and the European Union are experiencing days of sharp confrontation and political fragmentation. What is  #Armenia’s positioning? Due to disagreements over the fate of Greenland, tariff wars, and differing views on how the  #Russia– #Ukraine war should end, the concept of the “Collective West” no longer exists today. In my view, this poses a challenge to global security and stability.

For Armenia, it would be preferable to see a united and strong West that, through joint efforts, counters authoritarianism, defends the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and remains committed to rules-based international relations. Armenia should not be forced to choose between  #USA and  #EU.

Under President Donald Trump, a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan was initialed, something that did not occur under the previous Democratic administration. Under President Trump, Armenia and the United States continue the strategic partnership that was signed during President Biden’s term. Moreover, we have achieved unexpectedly strong results.

Armenia and the United States are cooperating concretely in the field of artificial intelligence, as a result of which a $500 million AI center will be built in Armenia. This is an unprecedented success for Armenia and will enable us to advance technologically and position ourselves on the global technology map.

We are also cooperating in the energy sector, and hopefully a final agreement will be reached on the construction of an American nuclear power plant. But of course, the mega-project of Armenia–U.S. cooperation is the “Trump Corridor” project, through which the United States brings to the region not only powerful economic investments but also political stabilization.

In practice, the likelihood of war is almost excluded in areas where strong American economic interests are present. At the very least, this applies to southern Armenia, which over the past five years has faced the risk of jointly generated Russian–Azerbaijani aggression.

Armenia also has very good relations with the European Union. Armenia has adopted a law on accession to the EU, and EU membership has been declared the country’s strategic course. Prime Minister Pashinyan’s political team openly states that Armenia must choose between the EU and the EAEU when we are ready for EU membership.

The European Union is also an important economic and democratic partner for us, and as a state we have declared as a supreme goal the establishment of a country built on European standards. Armenia’s future lies within the European Union, free from Russian influence.

I strongly disagree with those “pro-Western” figures in Armenia who criticize the “Trump Corridor” project solely because it is being implemented under a Republican rather than a Democratic administration.

They idolize the U.S. Democrats and oppose Trump, and for that reason alone harshly criticize the TRIPP project. I believe we should not be drawn into U.S.–EU contradictions. We must be modest and smart, cooperating with each side according to our own distinct agenda.

The primary objective is to ensure Armenia’s sovereignty and democracy, which can only be achieved through the transformation and modernization of Armenia itself, in cooperation with the United States and the European Union.

Armenia’s overarching task is to reduce Russia’s influence, to exclude Russian involvement from our domestic political issues, and to normalize relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. We must focus on these agendas and stay away from entering the arena of geopolitical confrontations.

— Robert Ananyan (@robananyan) Jan 19, 2026