Armenia is considering applying to join the European Union, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Friday, as the country seeks closer ties with the West amid tensions with its traditional ally Russia. Reuters.

“Many new opportunities are widely discussed in Armenia today, and I will not reveal a secret if I say that among them is the accession to the European Union,” Mirzoyan said in an interview with the Turkish TV channel TRT World.

He said this on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Since coming to power in a 2018 revolution, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has deepened Armenia’s ties to Europe and the United States, repeatedly drawing the ire of traditional ally Russia.

Yerevan has repeatedly said its alliance with Moscow is not about the war in Ukraine, and Pashinyan has accused Russia of trying to undermine his government.

Armenia also accuses Russia of failing to protect it from its old rival Azerbaijan, which has become increasingly close to Moscow in recent years.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last month that his country could no longer count on Russia as its main defense partner because Moscow had repeatedly failed to fulfill that responsibility.

It should also be emphasized that Armenia officially joined the member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which last March issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

Armenia’s decision to join the ISS, announced last year, was sharply criticized by the Kremlin. This means that, although Russia and Armenia are formally allies, Yerevan will be obliged to arrest Putin if he sets foot on Armenian territory.

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