July 8, 2026
5 developments
Pashinyan's Russia balancing act
The Yekaterinburg meeting shows a mutual need for normalization, but Moscow retains leverage through energy, trade and the railway concession.
Armenia moves to restore railways unilaterally
Pashinyan says Armenia will repair sections to the Turkish and Azerbaijani borders itself, bypassing the Russian railway monopoly.
The EU deepens its economic embrace
Von der Leyen's visit and tariff-free measures mark the most substantive EU integration step yet, explicitly countering Russian "economic violence".
TRIPP advances toward construction
Pashinyan says there are no political or financial obstacles and construction could begin by year-end, with a key US bilateral agreement near ratification.
The first direct Armenia-Azerbaijan security meeting on Armenian soil
The Grigoryan-Hajiyev talks in Dilijan normalize direct dialogue.