Armenia is one of the three south Caucasus countries, situated between the Black and Caspian seas alongside Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its capital is Yerevan. It is about a third the size of Azerbaijan.
Armenia is led by prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, a democrat who came to power through a popular uprising around 2018. The country depends on Russia's energy and food imports, and Russia still maintains a military base on Armenian territory.
Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and its surroundings—Azerbaijani territory—from the early 1990s. It lost the territory in stages: first in a 44-day war in 2020, and then entirely when Azerbaijan recaptured all of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Some 100,000 ethnic Armenians left the disputed territory. Russia, which was supposed to protect Armenia as an ally, refused to help defend it in 2020, partly in retribution for the uprising that had brought Pashinyan to power. The loss, painful as it was, liberated Armenia from a conflict that had shut its border with Turkey, forced it to outsource its security to Russia and made its politics hostage to Nagorno-Karabakh clans with close ties to Moscow.
Ottoman forces inflicted a genocide on Armenians in 1915-16. The memory of the genocide long poisoned Armenia's relationship with Turkey.
Armenia's border with Turkey has been closed since 1993. Pashinyan has tried to normalise the relationship, emphasising "reconciliation over resentment" and seeking to move Armenia beyond its historical trauma, symbolised by mount Ararat, now in Turkey. In 2025 Pashinyan made a historic visit to Istanbul, where he was received by President Erdogan. Reopening the border would cement Turkey's role as guarantor of the region's security, though Turkey has been reluctant to do so without Azerbaijan's consent.
On August 8th 2025 Donald Trump hosted Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev at the White House, where the trio signed a peace declaration, trade agreements and security accords. Armenia agreed to open an American-operated transport route across its territory linking Azerbaijan to its exclave, Nakhchivan; the 99-year lease to America is called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). Both leaders vowed to nominate Trump for a Nobel peace prize. Aliyev and Pashinyan 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 and will require a divisive referendum. Armenia will receive some support on artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Robert Kocharyan, a former president and nationalist hardliner, has accused Pashinyan of compromising Armenian sovereignty. Just 13% of Armenians say they trust Pashinyan. An election next year will give Russia a chance to interfere.
Since losing the war with Azerbaijan, Armenia has been trying to break free of Russia's influence and draw closer to the EU. Russia has been working to undermine this shift. In June 2025 Pashinyan said his government had foiled a coup attempt planned for September. The authorities arrested Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire, on charges of making public calls to seize power illegally. Russia's propaganda channels have called Pashinyan a traitor.
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 Armenia's annual GDP. Russia still provides 85% of Armenia's gas and maintains an army base in the country. Mr Karapetian, who leads the most popular opposition group, remains under house arrest. An election is scheduled for June 7th 2026; Pashinyan's Civil Contract party polls at around 30%, well ahead of rivals.
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