Pashinyan and Iotova sign strategic partnership in Yerevan
Nikol Pashinyan and Iliana Iotova signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership in yerevan on Sunday, giving Armenia and Bulgaria a formal political framework as the 8th European Political Community summit opened. Pashinyan hosted Iotova and her delegation ahead of the summit, using the meeting to put bilateral ties and broader European cooperation at the center of the day.
Pashinyan and Iotova in Yerevan
Pashinyan told Iotova that bilateral ties have strong potential and thanked Bulgaria for its support within the framework of the European Union. Iotova thanked Pashinyan for the warm welcome and for hosting the summit, and said the European Political Community has delivered tangible results since its launch.
The declaration fits a wider effort to deepen Armenia’s ties with the European Union through summit diplomacy in Yerevan. Iotova also congratulated Pashinyan on the upcoming EU-Armenia summit, tying the bilateral announcement to a broader European agenda rather than a one-off ceremonial visit.
Carney and Ruginiene meetings
Pashinyan also held separate meetings on Sunday with Canadian counterpart Mark Carney and Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene. Pashinyan and Carney discussed friendly bilateral relations and exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, while Carney thanked Armenia for the support provided to Canadians in connection with the Iran conflict.
Carney also raised monitoring carried out in the region with the European Union and expressed readiness to provide assistance in holding elections. Pashinyan and Ruginiene discussed steps to deepen bilateral relations and expand cooperation, including democratic reforms and economic ties between Armenia and the European Union.
EU-Armenia summit track
Ruginiene praised Armenia’s democratic development and welcomed the summit participation. For Armenia, the immediate payoff is a cluster of leader-level meetings in Yerevan that connect the Bulgaria declaration, Canadian engagement, and Lithuanian support to the same European-facing diplomatic track.
The next confirmed diplomatic moment in this sequence is the upcoming EU-Armenia summit, which Iotova explicitly referenced in her congratulations to Pashinyan. That gives the joint declaration a practical follow-on: a higher-level bilateral relationship now enters a wider European discussion already underway in Yerevan.
