A resounding message against the politics of the dominance of the strong and in favor of multilateral international politics, the European community wants to send in all directions from which two will be held, the first of which starts today is the 8th Summit of the European Political Community (EPC) and the second is the “maiden” EU-Armenia summit. The above is confirmed by the statements of the leaders participating in the work of the Synod, which had clear points against the leaders who practice politics with person-centered approaches.
The shadow of Karabakh and the Russian withdrawal
These developments come against the background of the historical changes brought to the balance in the Caucasus region by the events with the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan and the signing of the peace agreement with Baku, but also the weakening of Russian influence in the region which is a key consequence of Moscow’s focus on the war with Ukraine.
The “covering” of the political vacuum that Russia has left in a particularly sensitive area for it takes the form of a gradual strengthening of Armenia’s ties with the European community, which is signaled by the mission of EU experts, which was expected to be agreed upon by the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
Europe fills the ‘gap’
This mission of experts has as its main objective, within the next two years, to create the conditions for further curbing Russian influence in the country, focusing primarily on shielding the country from Russian cyberattacks and information “war” campaigns, i.e. disinformation operations. At the same time, he will try to establish “illegal” financial flows.
On a political level and in view of the parliamentary elections in the country, which are scheduled to be held on June 7, Pashinyan will also discuss with the European leadership issues related to cooperation in energy, transport and economic support, which are burning given the situation in the Middle East and the impasse in the US-Iran talks. According to what has become known, both Yerevan and Brussels also aim to strengthen cooperation in the fields of security and defense, with additional support for the country’s armed forces from the European Peace Facility (EPF).
It is noted that the EU has already given 30 million euros from 2024 through the EPF to Armenia, while the new mission of experts is the second since 2023, when a team of experts arrived in the country with the aim of observation and information in the context of building trust and security of citizens in areas that suffered from the conflicts in the region.
A resounding message against power politics
The message against the dominance of international power politics, which the Europeans want to send in all directions, is made even clearer by the fact that today at least 48 leaders are gathered in Yerevan, including “opponents” of Donald Trump, such as Mark Carney (the first time Canada has participated in such a meeting), but also British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is constantly under fire from the US president for his stance on the issue of the Straits of Hormuz.
This message also aligns with the statements of Canada’s Minister of Advancement, Mark Carney, that Europe is not going to submit to a “harder” world and can, on the contrary, be the basis on which a new international order will be built.
Carney spoke as the first non-European leader to attend a meeting of the European Political Community, which comes amid high tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and renewed doubts about the US commitment to NATO.
“We don’t believe we are doomed to submit to a more transactional, introverted and cruel world, and meetings like this point to a better way forward,” he said.
Hinting that the era of American leadership may be coming to an end and explaining the symbolism of Canada’s presence at a European political meeting, he added: “It is my strong personal belief that the international order will be rebuilt, but it will be rebuilt starting with Europe.”
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron, without mentioning the US, has also repeatedly underlined Europe’s comparative reliability, saying that this predictability is what makes it attractive in Asia, the Gulf, Latin America and Africa.
Europe still faces a major challenge of “de-risking” so that it no longer depends on others, including China, for critical minerals and a number of other sectors, Macron argued, stressing: “The big issue we have, beyond wars, is the important strategy of de-risking. We need more solidarity, more investment and better organization in order to limit the main geopolitical risks.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was also in Armenia, said Russia would face a critical moment in the summer, which he described as “critical for either expanding the war or turning to diplomacy.”
He stressed that if Russia does not choose to end the war, it is even more important that the sanctions packages are not lifted. He also called for the creation of a functioning diplomatic scheme, in which Europeans should participate in any talks.
Referring to the planned withdrawal of troops from Germany, the head of the EU’s foreign policy, Kaya Callas, said that there has been talk of a withdrawal of American troops from Europe for a long time, but that “the timing of this announcement is surprising. I think it shows that we really need to strengthen the European pillar in NATO.”
Asked if she thought Trump was trying to punish German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying the US had been humiliated by Iran in talks to end the war, Callas said: “I can’t get into President Trump’s mind, so he has to explain it himself.”
The connection with the Middle East
Precisely because of the situation created in the supply chains due to the Middle East and disruptions in trade, the trade route that connects Asia to Europe through the Caucasus, the Zangezur Corridor, which is now called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), will play a central role in the discussions in Yerevan.
In fact, this specific corridor was of particular concern to Iran when its renaming and the details of the Trump-Pasinian-Aliyev agreement were announced. At the time, the Iranian leadership, through the mouth of a senior adviser to the then leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had commented that: “Mr. Trump thinks that the Caucasus is a piece of real estate that he can rent for 99 years. This pass will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries, it will become their graveyard.”
It remains to be seen how the Europeans can find the space and the balance to have a say in TRIPP, since essentially through this corridor the time to transport goods from Europe to Asia is significantly reduced.
