Armenia’s overseas minister alerts new period: Peace, EU ambitions, commerce, ‘enormous’ infrastructure plans – Spotlight | EUROtoday

Mirzoyan situates this growth inside a broader historic shift. After “decades and decades” throughout which “Armenia was under blockade”, the nation is now searching for to redefine its regional position. Crucially, he reframes this transformation in cooperative slightly than aggressive phrases: “This is not about competition, it’s about unblocking the South Caucasus.”

For the nation’s high diplomat, Armenia’s future lies in connectivity, supported by formidable plans for “huge infrastructure – railways, electricity grids, oil and gas pipelines” – positioning the nation as “a critical chain in the Middle Corridor” linking Europe and Asia.

Yet this forward-looking imaginative and prescient is tempered by the enduring legacy of battle. While the “wounds of this war are still fresh” following Azerbaijan’s brutal invasion and seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, Mirzoyan underscores a deliberate nationwide pivot towards the longer term. “It’s not easy to forget, and there is no necessity to forget,” he explains. “We will, of course, remember. But we also should analyse… that our nation… should now focus on the present and future rather than remain in the past.” He factors to a panorama of rising alternative: “There are so many new opportunities in Armenia… infrastructure… AI… data centres, modern schools, education, universities.”

Armenians ‘have European aspirations’

On the home and geopolitical entrance, Mirzoyan emphasises the democratic and societal dimensions of Armenia’s trajectory. He maintains that the individuals of Armenia “strongly support the peace agenda” and “have European aspirations”, framing nearer ties with the European Union as each a political route and a societal selection.

In outlining Armenia’s regional atmosphere, the minister adopts a notably calibrated tone. Alongside the newly established peace with Azerbaijan, he highlights “very productive dialogue” with Turkey geared toward normalising relations, describes ties with Georgia as “brilliant” and “brotherly,” and characterises relations with Iran as “very normal neighbourly relations”, whereas expressing concern over ongoing regional instability. Relations with Russia, nevertheless, are introduced extra cautiously: acknowledging “frustration regarding Russia’s role”, he however insists that Armenia “definitely” doesn’t search battle and intends to keep up “normal friendly relations”.

Ultimately, Mirzoyan grounds his evaluation within the precept of sovereignty, asserting that “no one in the world has the right to interfere” in Armenia’s democratic processes and that the “choice of people” should be revered. His remarks painting a state navigating between reminiscence and momentum, searching for to anchor itself via peace, connectivity and democratic legitimacy in an more and more fluid regional order.