Last week, on the occasion of the international forum “Yerevan Dialogue 2025,” we met in the Armenian capital with Ani Badalyan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

Peace negotiations with Azerbaijan have reached a crucial stage, with an agreement apparently ready to be signed. At the same time, the country’s international positioning is being redefined: from the United States to the European Union, from Russia to Iran, and including India and China, diplomatic relations are evolving rapidly.

On the domestic front, a delicate process of communication with the public remains central, as society is called upon to accept the implications of a historic turning point.

We interviewed her to understand the current situation, the next steps, and the evolving balances at the heart of the Caucasus. Ani Badalyan showed herself to be ready and courteous in answering every question – an attitude all the more appreciated toward a foreign journalist at such a sensitive moment for Armenian diplomacy.

Last September, we met with Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan, who explained that the peace agreement was almost ready, except for a few minor points. Now, Prime Minister Pashinyan has stated that Armenia is ready to sign the treaty and that even Azerbaijan’s latest preconditions have already been resolved or can be resolved. Are we really close to peace?

Since September, indeed, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an important milestone, which is the agreement on the draft Treaty on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As you are aware, in March we announced that the draft Peace Treaty has been agreed upon and the negotiations on the text have been concluded. Armenia announced that it is ready to sign the treaty without any delay and suggested starting consultations on the venue and time of the signing.

So, are we close?

As I mentioned, Armenia is ready to sign the Agreement. And from the reactions from many international partners we see that they not only welcomed the fact that there is an agreement on the text, but also support its swift singing.

At the same time, you mentioned certain issues raised by Azerbaijan: the dissolving of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Constitutional issue. On the first topic, Armenia has announced on the highest level its readiness to consider the dissolution of the OSCE MG, however, we want to make sure that when we reach dissolution of those structions, we also have reached conflict’s resolution both de jure and de facto, this means having institutionalized peace with Azerbaijan. Thus, the joint application to the OSCE to dissolve the Minsk Group can be signed simultaneously with the signing of the Peace Treaty. Regarding the Constitutional issue, the position of Armenia has been very clear and understandable. The principle of recognition of territorial integrity within the borders of the Republics, established at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, is stipulated in the draft Peace Treaty. So the most direct way to address the concerns, if they are sincere, is the signing of the Peace Treaty itself and its ratification by the Parliament, in the case of Armenia – after the positive conclusion of the Constitutional Court of Armenia.

The agreement on the Draft Peace treaty was an important step, but it is part of a broader process aimed at achieving final peace in our region, the South Caucasus. And here I would like to underline, as Foreign Minister of Armenia Mirzoyan stated during his panel discussion at “Yerevan Dialogue 2025”, there is a huge demand for peace in the world, not only in our region. But in our region there is a real opportunity. And here international partners can contribute to achieving tangible results, including the signing of the Peace Treaty and getting closer to establishment of peace in the entire South Caucasus.

Compared to last year, have we witnessed a shift in foreign policy toward the United States and Russia? Relations had frozen with the CSTO*, yet Prime Minister Pashinyan attended the Victory Day in Moscow.

I don’t think we witness such a shift. The suspension of Armenia’s participation in the CSTO had concrete reasons that still apply: Armenia was obviously not satisfied with the organization’s response when the country’s sovereign border, territorial integrity was violated. There was actually no reaction. That’s why we froze our participation in the CSTO, and we do not foresee any changes in this direction.

As for the Prime Minister’s participation in Moscow, political dialogue with Russia continues as we are partners; and, of course, Armenia celebrates the anniversary of the Victory in World War II as Armenia hugely contributed to that victory with a big human cost, 300.000 Armenians died in the war.

I can add that today there is open dialogue between Armenia and Russia. We openly discuss not only the aspects where we can cooperate, but also issues where our approaches do not necessarily coincide, for example the CSTO.

I wouldn’t say that this dynamic is linked to the new U.S. administration. In January, we signed the Strategic Partnership Charter with the USA, high-level engagements took place early this year with the new administration, and we continue the conversation with the new administration towards implementation of this partnership in all areas of mutual interest including economy, security, border management.

As I stressed earlier, building peace in the region is a strategic priority for Armenia, and we see the interest of the Trump administration to support the peace efforts, the signing of the peace agreement and contribute to the prosperity in our region. So, as you can see this approach aligns with our priorities.

Regarding relations with the EU, are they more reliable at this moment, given such an unstable U.S. foreign policy?

I would not compare the partnership with the EU to that with the United States ‒ the agendas and expectations somewhat differ.

With the EU, we are working on a New Partnership agenda that covers a broad range of sectors where we are interested to further deepen the cooperation from justice reform to economic development, connectivity, and energy. Armenia was the first non-candidate country to benefit from the EU’s Growth and Resilience Plan last year. We believe this partnership not only makes Armenia more resilient, brings our country closer to the European family, but also is fully in line with the aspirations of our citizens. As you are aware, those aspirations were reflected also in the civil initiative to start the process to join the EU, which became a draft law and was adopted by the Parliament of Armenia in March this year.

How long will it take to achieve this goal?

Currently, we are focused on concrete measures: last year we received support for the first time from the European Peace Facility. We have launched the visa liberalization dialogue, long awaited by our citizens. There is political will to reach positive outcomes on VLD soon, we are working on the Action Plan and continue the necessary reforms. We have been collaborating and still have the interest in the Eastern Partnership Program, which has contributed significantly in terms of democratic reforms.

There is interest in expanding exports to the EU market, hence we need to work on concrete mechanisms, including when it comes to EU standards. Of course, we have the conversation and see very good prospects for the cooperation in connectivity, as we believe that our initiative of the “Crossroads of Peace” is fully compatible with the EU’s Global Gateway and the Middle Corridor.

I would like to underline that we also work on deepening the bilateral cooperation with EU Member States through formulating strategic partnerships, the last example of which was the Declaration on the Strategic Partnership with the Netherlands with whom we share strong commitment to advancing democracy and rule of law.

What are the relations with your neighbor Iran?

We have traditionally had excellent relations with Iran and Georgia. Given the difficult neighborhood, we of course highly value Iran’s clear support for Armenia’s territorial integrity, which is vital for us. Stability in our immediate as well as broader Middle Eastern neighborhood is important also for our region, in terms of possible implications, so we do follow the negotiations between Iran and the United States with the hope they will yield positive results.

There were Turkish speakers at the Yerevan Dialogue…

Türkiye can play a positive role: normalizing relations with Ankara, opening borders and establishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Türkiye would be a breakthrough. The border has been opened several times for humanitarian purposes, but the final, full opening would have a wider impact.

Is the partnership with India equally important? China investing in neighboring countries…

We have built bilateral agendas with both China and India and those agenda do not hinder each other. Just the opposite, we believe our initiative of the “Crossroads of Peace” can benefit all of us, and by the way we have received positive signals from both countries.

Last year, we launched the first direct flight between Armenia and China. As I mentioned, through enhanced connectivity there is great potential for trade.

With India, political dialogue is very active encompassing many aspects of bilateral cooperation. By the way, we organized the “Yerevan Dialogue” initially in cooperation with Indian partners, as one of the successful initiatives (this year already with Polish and French colleagues). The relations have developed significantly during the past 3-4 years through active political dialogue and mutual visits, including in areas never explored before.

Is military cooperation the main domain of cooperation with Delhi?

The media tend to focus on it more, but there are other directions, including business contacts, education etc.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Friendship Agreement with India, one of the first and fundamental documents signed still in the 90s, just years after Armenia’s independence.

Which European countries are present in the Yerevan Dialogue?

At the Yerevan Dialogue, Foreign Ministers from France and Hungary, the Slovak Prime Minister, and the Montenegrin deputy Prime Minister participated, to mention the highest level.

By the way, with Montenegro, we also discuss their experience in the EU accession process.

Referring to the other major events expected in Armenia, next year we will host COP17 on biodiversity and the spring meeting of the European Political Community.

Freedom of the press: a strong point for Armenia in its European path?

We rank 34th in the Reporters Without Borders index. This is a significant result, demonstrating our commitment to freedom of speech.

In Armenia, all opinions are heard. That’s not always the easiest choice, but that’s part of democracy.

Is it and will it be easy institutionally to make the public understand government choices? It can’t be easy for everyone to accept a peace deal…

That is a fair question. Indeed, it has not been easy to advocate for peace when the wounds are fresh. Of course, signing the peace agreement will not immediately cure the wounds.

Achieving peace is not a one-time event. It’s a continuous process that requires courageous steps, diplomacy, and building trust. But the government of Armenia is determined to start that path.

Armenia has made its choice towards building institutionalized and lasting peace, and this peace agenda is supported by the society.

* The CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) is a military alliance of several post-Soviet states led by Russia. Its current members include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Established in 1992, the CSTO provides for mutual defense commitments in the event of external aggression against any member state.

Autore