Kuleba meets Armenian minister as Yerevan drifts away from Moscow
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on June 29 that he had met with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on the sidelines of the Dubrovnik Forum in Croatia.
This comes as Yerevan is seeking to distance itself from Russia, repeatedly accusing Moscow of being an unreliable partner.
Kuleba and Mirzoyan discussed the security situation in Europe and the South Caucasus. The two also focused on ways to deepen bilateral ties and international cooperation between nations, "particularly in light of Ukraine’s future EU membership," according to Kuleba.
"I thanked Armenia for attending the first peace summit in Switzerland and informed my counterpart about further work on implementing the peace formula on the path to a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine," the minister said.
Armenia had long relied on Russia as its primary regional ally.
However, relations between the two countries have continued to sour after Russian peacekeepers declined to act during conflicts between Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-backed entity on internationally recognized Azeri territory, and Azerbaijan, in 2020 and 2023. Nagorno-Karabakh was re-integrated into Azerbaijan after Baku's final victory in 2023.
Following this, Yerevan repeatedly threatened to leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance.
In March, Mirzoyan revealed that the country is considering applying for membership in the European Union, aiming to strengthen ties with the West.
Armenia has largely refrained from getting involved in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The country delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in September 2023.
Nate Ostiller
