The format of the European Political Community summit was created in 2022, the first summit was held in Prague, and the main initiators were the EU and France. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan stated this in an interview with Public Television, referring to the fact that the eighth summit of the European Political Community will be held in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on May 3-4.

“Heads of state or heads of government participate in this summit. Summits take place twice a year—once in an EU member state, the next in a non-EU member state,” Kostanyan added. The Armenian deputy FM noted that official documents and declarations are not adopted at these summits. “The beauty of the European Political Community is that the agenda is much broader, much freer, and creates a space for, in essence, free exchange of ideas. Each summit has its own specific thematic orientations.

This time, taking into account Armenia’s priorities, the heads of state and government will largely focus on discussing issues related to hybrid threats, democratic resistance, communications, energy, and green transformation. Naturally, security issues will also be discussed,” said Kostanyan.

He emphasized that the European Political Community summit in Yerevan will be attended not only by representatives of EU member states, but also by leaders of the Balkan countries, the EU Eastern Partnership countries, as well as heads of various international organizations, including the OSCE Secretary General, the European Council Secretary General, and the NATO Secretary General.

When asked if there is already a list of which heads of states will come, Vahan Kostanyan replied: “We are currently finalizing the list of heads of states and organizations that we will invite. It’s about several dozen leaders.” Speaking about expectations from the summit, the Armenian deputy FM said: “Several hundred journalists will visit Armenia during the summit, which enables Armenia to become the focus of political discussions at the global level during those days, which will increase both Armenia’s recognition, visibility, but also political weight.

Something tells me that within the framework of the European Political Community, our bilateral agendas with several states will also significantly advance, in some cases even be raised to a new level. This is a platform for talking, discussing, signing various documents as necessary, which is also what we are planning. Roundtable discussions will take place, the co-chairs briefly present what was discussed, what positions various states had, which will be followed by the closing ceremony and press conference. The Prime Minister of Armenia will recap this summit of the European Political Community for the press, along with his European colleagues.”

When asked who from Armenia’s neighboring countries will participate, Vahan Kostanyan replied: “The members of this format are Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, to which invitations have already been sent. We have confirmation from the Georgian side that the Prime Minister of Georgia will participate in the event. There are no confirmations from Turkey and Azerbaijan at the moment.”

And regarding the fact that anti-Russian statements are likely to be made at the summit, and asked whether this raises concerns that Armenia will be perceived as an anti-Russian bridgehead, the Armenian deputy FM noted that not only European partners, but also from other regions are visiting Armenia, and the latter is deepening its relations in all directions. “We [i.e. Armenia] have no plans to become an anti-Russian bridgehead, and this is not on our agenda. Armenia is a host state in this case and shall properly provide an opportunity for all members of the summit to express their national positions,” Vahan Kostanyan said.