Pashinyan used the issue of visa-free travel with the EU in his election campaign.
The issue of visa liberalization with the European Union will be resolved within the next two years, Nikol Pashinyan stated today during a meeting with voters.
As "Caucasian Knot" reported, the Armenia-EU summit dealt only with general issues and did not touch on topics important to Yerevan, in particular, Karabakh refugees and prisoners of war. Nevertheless, it clearly demonstrated that the current government is taking real steps towards the country's European integration, which could become important for voters in the parliamentary elections, Russian and Armenian analysts noted.
Armenia will resolve the issue of visa liberalization with the European Union within two years at the latest, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated today during the election campaign.
"They tell us: you have such good relations with the European Union, can't you resolve the visa issue? Do you know why this is happening? Because the number of people leaving Armenia for the EU increased by 500% between 2018 and 2025. Embassies of EU countries cannot process all the applications from Armenian citizens,” Pashinyan said.
According to him, “then all you have to do is remember your passport to go to Larnaca, and a ticket, as you know, costs two euros,” writes Novosti Armenia.
The Armenia-EU Visa Liberalization Dialogue was officially launched in September 2024. In the spring of 2025, EU expert missions arrived in Armenia, and on November 5, 2025, the European Commission submitted the Visa Liberalization Action Plan to Yerevan.
According to Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan, the measures to implement this plan are within the framework of the reforms planned in Armenia. The Action Plan includes 74 mandatory points. They are grouped into four blocks: biometric documents (passports and ID cards), border management (including migration and asylum), public order (including the fight against drugs, human trafficking, crime prevention, and anti-corruption measures), and human rights protection.
As "Caucasian Knot" reported, the Armenian government supported the idea of holding a referendum on joining the European Union, but Pashinyan urged against hasty steps. The Russian president's press secretary reminded that it will not be possible to be a member of both the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union simultaneously. EU standards imply joining anti-Russian sanctions, the Russian Foreign Minister stated. Combining Armenia's course toward rapprochement with the EU and membership in the Eurasian Economic Union is "definitely impossible," Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Nikol Pashinyan in the Kremlin. He also stated that Moscow would "like" all pro-Russian political forces to participate in Armenia's parliamentary elections.
Armenian authorities should decide as soon as possible whether to join the EU or the EAEU, for example, by holding a referendum, which could become the basis for an "intelligent divorce" of the two countries, Putin said.