Armenia will formally apply for European Union membership before holding a referendum on whether to join the bloc, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told parliament on August 24, setting out a five-year programme that would further shift the country away from Russia and reshape its relations with Azerbaijan, Iran and the West.

Presenting his government's programme to the National Assembly, Pashinyan said the application would be followed by a response from Brussels and a roadmap for accession before Armenians were asked to vote.

The programme is built around what Pashinyan calls the ideology of "Real Armenia" and his assertion that the June 7 election, won by his Civil Contract party, established a "Fourth Republic".

He defined the purpose of the Armenian state as ensuring "peace, freedom, security and prosperity for its citizens in its internationally recognised territory of 29,743 square kilometres", explicitly excluding any territorial claim to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The programme is the first major government strategy to be presented on the assumption that peace with Azerbaijan has been achieved. Its foreign policy agenda consequently focuses less on security guarantees and more on transport links, trade, investment and integration with Europe.

EU application before referendum

Pashinyan said Armenia should not hold an immediate referendum on EU membership, arguing that voters should first be given a clearer picture of what accession would entail.

"A referendum makes sense when the launched process has reached some milestone and it is possible to reflect on the realism of these prospects, to have a roadmap on how we will move forward," he said.

"Armenia must first submit an official application for membership to the European Union. This is also a process that requires extensive work, and in the near future we will probably begin this process."

He said the eventual sequence would be an application, a response from the EU, a roadmap and then a referendum.

"My understanding is that we will hold a referendum after officially applying to the European Union for membership, receiving an appropriate response, and having a roadmap for the process," Pashinyan said.

The four other leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union called on May 29 for Armenia to hold a referendum "on joining the European Union or remaining part of the European Economic Union as soon as possible".

Pashinyan said he regarded the call as friendly but rejected pressure over the timing.

"We perceive this as a friendly gesture, which we highly appreciate, and I am sure that such a referendum will definitely take place in Armenia," he said. "The problem is the timing, but the timing is not only of organisational importance, but also of content."

Armenia hosted the eighth European Political Community summit and the first Armenia-EU summit in May. Pashinyan also highlighted negotiations with the EU on visa liberalisation, which he said were aimed at completing the process by 2029.

Railway concession tests Moscow ties

The most direct request to Russia in Pashinyan's speech concerned Armenia's railway network. Armenia owns the Yeraskh-Akhurik railway line, while its management is controlled by Russian Railways under a concession. Pashinyan said the arrangement was becoming an obstacle to investment in emerging transport corridors because international companies viewed infrastructure operated by a Russian entity as a sanctions risk.

Investors interested in the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, were looking for ways around the railway section, he said.

"The complicated relations between Russia and the West, the sanctions applied to Russia force international investors, freight forwarders and trade participants to avoid it, consider it a risk and not take risks," Pashinyan said.

He urged Moscow to transfer the concession rather than abandon the project. "This is why we ask our partners in the Russian Federation to show flexibility and sell the concession rights to a third country acceptable to Armenia and Russia," he said.

Pashinyan stressed that Armenia respected Russian interests and did not object to Russian management of the railway itself.

"We have the utmost respect for the Russian Federation and its interests," he said, arguing that Western sanctions rather than Russian management were the central problem.

Armenia's economic relationship with Russia has become increasingly strained. Pashinyan said Russian restrictions on some Armenian exports contradicted Eurasian Economic Union rules and described the situation as a "crisis for the EAEU".

He said Armenia's answer was to diversify its economic relationships rather than remain dependent on a small number of suppliers.

He pointed to the fuel market as an example. Armenia had avoided shortages after disruptions linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and tighter Russian supplies because the market had been liberalised after 2018 and imports from Azerbaijan had been added in 2025. Oil products entered Armenia from 20 countries between 2024 and 2026, he said.

Security ties with Moscow were also addressed. "I have not doubted Russia's commitment to fulfilling this function, but the events of 2021, 2022, 2023 showed that due to its own security problems, the Russian Federation may sometimes have significant limitations in fulfilling this role," Pashinyan said.

Azerbaijan peace shifts focus to trade

Pashinyan presented the peace process with Azerbaijan as the foundation for a new regional economic order. The two countries are expected to begin reciprocal trade soon, he said, with the Armenian government encouraging companies to establish commercial links. Border demarcation and the release of Armenians held in Azerbaijan would remain on the political agenda.

A peace agreement initialled in Washington on August 8, 2025 has yet to be formally signed.

Pashinyan said both countries needed to accept their Soviet-era borders as the basis of the settlement.

"Both we and Azerbaijan must face and come to terms with the fact that the territory of independent Armenia is identical to the territory of Soviet Armenia, the territory of independent Azerbaijan is identical to the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan, no more, no less," he said.

That position rules out continued Armenian territorial claims over Nagorno-Karabakh while also challenging Azerbaijani references to "Western Azerbaijan" and "Western Azerbaijanis".

The constitutional package is due to be published in coming months and will also include judicial changes, including the introduction of juries and a new method of selecting members of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Pashinyan rejected claims that the constitutional changes were being imposed by Azerbaijan, saying previous Armenian governments had spent decades negotiating issues raised by Baku.

TRIPP at heart of connectivity strategy

The TRIPP corridor is the centrepiece of the government's infrastructure strategy. Pashinyan said the route would run through Armenian territory under full Armenian sovereignty and jurisdiction, with no foreign military presence. It is expected to follow the Nrnadzor-Agarak route along Armenia's southern border with Iran, broadly corresponding to the alignment of the Soviet-era railway.

A development company is nearing completion of its formation, with Armenia expected to hold a 26% stake and the United States 74% for at least 49 years. If the arrangement is extended for another 50 years, Armenia's share would rise to 49% and the US stake fall to 51%, without requiring further Armenian investment, Pashinyan said.

"Before TRIPP, we have never had a 100-year project or perspective before us," he said. "And this is a historic opportunity for both Armenia and the region."

Regional transport links are already being restored. Azerbaijan's railway through Georgia has carried Armenian imports and exports since November 2025, while the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway opened to Armenian freight in May. Turkish roads through Georgia are also being opened to Armenian trucks.

TRIPP would provide Armenia with a railway connection to Iran and could help establish a Persian Gulf-Black Sea transport route through Iran, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave, Armenia and Georgia.

Pashinyan described the prospect as an "epoch-making change" for the region, while stressing that the wider Gulf-Black Sea railway would result from regional de-blockading rather than being formally part of TRIPP.

Electricity transmission infrastructure could be among the first projects developed under TRIPP, he said, because it can be built relatively quickly and rising global electricity demand is creating opportunities for regional power exports.

Pashinyan described Armenia's relationship with the United States as being at its strongest point. The two countries signed a strategic partnership memorandum in January 2025. Armenia has since expanded cooperation with Washington in artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies.

Pashinyan said Armenia now had three supercomputer centres and two AI factories, while the government programme targets at least 100,000 high-end graphics processing units.

Armenia is also pursuing strategic partnerships with countries including Georgia, France, China, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Germany, Luxembourg, Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia and Lithuania.

The approach reflects a shift in the meaning of Pashinyan's repeated references to a "balanced" foreign policy. The objective is increasingly to diversify Armenia's external relationships rather than balance Moscow against the West.