President Volodymyr Zelensky may visit Armenia in “the near future,” as relations between Kyiv and Yerevan warm up, the Armenian news outlet FactorTV reported on Feb. 23.
Preparations for the visit are currently underway, but the exact date has not yet been confirmed, the outlet reported, citing its sources.
Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Armenia Valeri Lobach neither confirmed nor denied plans for a visit were in the works in response to FactorTV, instead hinting that Zelensky is preparing to come to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital.
"I can only say that spring will bring many positive events to Armenia,” Lobach told the outlet.
Once a long time-ally of Russia, especially vis-a-vis its primary regional foe Azerbaijan, Armenia has largely refrained from getting involved in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
The calculus changed after Russian "peacekeepers" failed to prevent Azerbaijan's offensive into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, in September 2023.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Feb. 1 that Armenia's defense strategy cannot rely on Russia as it used to, and that Yerevan needed to more closely examine its security relations with the U.S., France, India, and other countries.
Lobach also told FactorTV that “Ukraine is ready to support Armenia,” and “will do everything for the regulation and stabilization of the region."
Zelensky met Pashinyan for the first time in October 2023 during his visit to Spain for the European Political Community Summit in Granada. The two discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus, bilateral cooperation, and interregional economic projects, Zelensky said at the time.
Armenia delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in September of last year. Later in February 2024, representatives of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine and the Armenian Embassy in Ukraine delivered 10 tons of medical equipment to one of Ukraine's main military hospitals.
Francis Farrell
