We asked Tigran Khzmalyan, leader of the European Party of Armenia and the Chief Responsible For Armenia at EDC, about the current situation in Armenia and its position between Europe and Asia.
Tigran Khzmalyan said for EDC : “After 8 years in power the Armenian PM Pashinyan who headed the self-proclaimed “velvet revolution“ in April 2018 with slogans of liberation from pro-Russia corrupt oligarchic regime, has proved nowadays to turn into hypocritical demagogue who built the hybrid autocracy in Armenia instead of promised pro-European democracy. I am saying this with full responsibility and bitterness, as a Chairman of the European Party of Armenia (EPA) which initiated the Law on EU accession adopted by Armenian parliament on March 26, 2025 and effectively “frozen” since that time by the Pashinyan’s government.
According to Pashinyan’s announcements on April 16 and 18, Armenia will continue military cooperation with Russia, (https://armenpress.am/en/article/1247782/amp), while he defined those who opposes the Armenian-Russian rapprochement “the foreign agents” (YouTube · Pashinyan’s bold statement about “foreign agents”: what the opposition didn’t expect).
This political label earlier used by Putin, Lukashenko and Ivanishvili, has completed the trajectory of Pashinyan’s political career – from democratic narratives to authoritarian rule.
The complicated matters are more understandable in comparison, so Armenian situation could be seen along with developments in Georgia. Once a prominent democratic leader of the region, Georgia has declined into the Russian vassal province under the rule of oligarch Ivanishvili and his pocket party Georgian Dream. The frustration and political apathy of society were caused by political campaign of labeling the opponents as “foreign agents” and “party of war”. Targets of this propaganda were EU and democratic movement.
In 2023 my routine visit to Georgia was prohibited on the border and later discussion in Georgian media made clear that I am an “undesirable person” as a leader of the European Party of Armenia. Three years later we see very similar narratives in Armenia while the European Party of Armenia is openly and shamelessly banned from Public TV broadcast because of our criticism of Pashinyan’s collaborationism. (https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1A5iEDoZuT/?mibextid=wwXIfr)
European Union sincerely and consistently continues its efforts to support democracy in Armenia, however European representatives and institutions repeat the same tragic mistake which they did in Georgia – they prefer to deal with the governmental bureaucracy and state-affiliate “chosen NGO” trust to their comfortable demagoguery instead of meeting and talking to democratic opposition parties like ours. Thus, the EU delegation in Armenia for years rejects all cooperation proposals and contacts with EPA before and even after the EU accession law that we initiated and made it happened.
Few years ago the democratic opposition in Georgia failed to shape the united pro-European front against the pro-Russian ruling party and failed. Interestingly, the EU representatives and institutions didn’t try to help the consolidation of democratic process in Georgia which allowed Russia to regain control over the country that already got the status of EU candidate state.
Similar developments are taking place in Armenia where Pashinyan combines domestic autocracy with fake democratic narratives for Europe. The example of this tragic self-deceiving is the Eastern Partnership Civil Society forum on Armenia’s elections : “Hybrid threats and disinformation: the role of civil society” to be held on 21 April 2026 in the European Parliament, Brussels.
Along with distinguished hosts like Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, MEP Sergey Lagodinsky, Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Miriam Lexmann and MEP Andrea Fontana, the Armenian side is represented by the guest speakers from the so-called «GonGO”s – the state affiliated and approved organizations which help to create and hold the fake picture of Armenian “democratic efforts “ despite the obvious decline towards authoritarian regime.
Therefore, the real choice that Armenians face in 2026 is between the two Russian-controlled oligarchic clans of former and present rulers. In other words, there is no choice left. Pashinyan did his best to divide and destroy the democratic opposition that the EPA initiated in 2024 as a EuroCoalition. Its former members rejected our proposal to run for the Parliament together and now they go separately with minimum chances to win the seats.
These elections were supposed to make a choice between Europe and Asia, between EU and pro-Russian traps like CSTO and EurAsian Economic Union. Instead, Pashinyan rejected the EU option just before elections, left the society disappointed and disoriented, frightened by his threat of coming war and lost in the demagoguery that EU silently watches with no comment, in style of Euronews. What is left for Armenia in 2026 is a Sophie’s Choice between Asia and Eurasia rather than the EU integration.”
