people|Westward bound

Nikol Pashinyan

Prime minister of Armenia. He came to power through a popular uprising around 2018 and is considered a democrat. He faces elections in June 2026, which his Civil Contract party (polling around 30%) is favoured to win. Just 13% of Armenians say they trust him.

Pashinyan has tried to move Armenia beyond its historical trauma over the loss of its homeland and the Armenian genocide of 1915-16, emphasising "reconciliation over resentment". He made a historic visit to Istanbul in 2025, where he was ceremoniously received by President Erdogan, as part of efforts to normalise Armenia's relationship with Turkey, poisoned since the genocide.

On August 8th 2025 Donald Trump hosted Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev at the White House. Armenia agreed to open an American-operated transport corridor to Azerbaijan's exclave, Nakhchivan, called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), on a 99-year lease to America. The two leaders initialled a formal peace treaty but did not sign it; Azerbaijan's demand that Armenia amend its constitution to remove references to Nagorno-Karabakh remains unmet. Robert Kocharyan, a former president and nationalist hardliner, has accused Pashinyan of compromising Armenian sovereignty.

Since losing the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan has been trying to break free of Russia's influence and draw closer to the EU. Russia has been working to oust him. In June 2025 Pashinyan said his government had foiled a coup attempt planned for September, and arrested Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire, on charges of making public calls to seize power illegally. Russia provides 85% of Armenia's gas and maintains an army base in the country. In May 2026 Yerevan hosted a meeting of the European Political Community, and the EU held its first bilateral summit with Armenia, offering up to €2.5bn in infrastructure funding—more than 10% of annual GDP. Pashinyan hopes Armenia will one day join the EU.