Armenia may rely on EU to thwart possible hybrid threats in 2026 elections

Spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Ani Badalyan, has said that the European Union may help Armenia counter potential hybrid threats during the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2026.

“Cooperation between Armenia and the European Union to strengthen Armenia’s resilience across various areas, including countering hybrid threats, is ongoing and is not a new development,” she said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“Interaction aimed at countering potential hybrid threats during the conduct of elections in accordance with democratic standards is no exception,” Badalyan said, noting that these initiatives are to be carried out with EU support, drawing on the experience and tools available to the European Union and its member states.

For the record, Armenia's upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 7, 2026, mark the first regularly scheduled national vote since 2017 and the first full-term contest under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's leadership since the 2021 snap elections. This vote will determine the composition of the unicameral National Assembly (parliament), which in turn nominates the prime minister—the country's most powerful position in its parliamentary republic system established by the 2015 constitutional reforms.

By Khagan Isayev