Armenia looks toward Europe with key meetings this week

Armenia hosts the first European Union summit in Yerevan on Tuesday, marking a deepening of ties that's been years in the making.

The summit underscores Armenia’s disillusionment with Russia after Moscow failed to intervene during Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive that ended decades of ethnic Armenian control over the Karabakh region.

The Armenian parliament passed a law last year formally declaring the country’s intention to seek EU membership, although membership prospects remain distant.

Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers who were deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught.

Since then, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has moved to pursue closer ties with the West.