Armenia seeks EU support against Russian influence Another crack in bilateral ties

Armenia has formally requested that the European Union deploy a rapid hybrid response team to help shield the country from potential Russian interference in its upcoming parliamentary elections and to counter disinformation, Armenian media report. The request was submitted to Brussels by Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan.

A similar EU mission, involving around 20 personnel, was previously sent to Moldova during its parliamentary elections to assist authorities in detecting and combating Russian disinformation. The initiative was deemed successful, and now a comparable operation is planned for Armenia ahead of its elections in June.

In this context, Armenia’s concerns are entirely understandable. Russia is unlikely to resist the temptation to leverage its resources to influence the outcome of the Armenian parliamentary elections. This includes both electoral tools—such as Moscow’s proxies, notably representatives of the Karabakh clan, and Russia-linked oligarch Samvel Karapetyan—as well as informational and technological means to sway voter behaviour.

What is particularly striking, however, is that Yerevan is now openly and officially accusing Moscow of hostile intentions. This marks a new phase in the slow-burning crisis between the two countries, one in which tensions are likely to escalate.

The Armenian leadership would hardly take such a bold step without feeling confident in strong external support. In this case, that backing seems to come on two levels—both from the European Union and, perhaps even more importantly, from the United States. Washington’s support, demonstrated not merely in words but through concrete actions, appears to be motivated at least in part by economic interests, particularly those linked to the development of the Armenian section of the Zangezur Corridor, also known as the “Trump Route” or TRIPP.

In this context, it is worth recalling the recent visit of Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan to Moscow, during which he spoke positively in his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “I don't want such a perception in Russia. I want to assure you that we do not have and will never have such a perception. It is a mistake for what we already have,” Simonyan said at the time, adding that all contentious issues were being discussed gradually and could ultimately be resolved.

Apparently, the disputed issues were not resolved, and if they were, they did not include the main question—the Kremlin’s strategic acceptance of Pashinyan and his team. The issue seems so intractable that Pashinyan decided to act preemptively, and not just in any way, but by designating Russia as the main opponent of democratic processes in Armenia, and therefore of Armenia itself.

It is also possible that the initiative did not originate in Yerevan, but in Brussels, which is seeking an opportunity to hit Moscow as hard as possible wherever it can. On the other hand, the ruling party’s financial and political dependence on the EU does not allow it to deliberate too long over the latter’s proposals. In this sense, if the Armenian leadership aims to strengthen the country’s sovereignty, it still has work to do to free itself from the “management” of its European patrons. For now, however, Yerevan is forced to declare a cold war on Russia.