The 8th European Political Community summit opened in Yerevan on Monday, May 4, 2026, with over 40 European leaders attending, according to multiple reports. European Council President António Costa and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan co-chaired the event, the European Council said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made history as the first non-European leader to attend an EPC meeting, according to multiple reports.
Canada does not intend to seek EU membership, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. A first-ever bilateral EU-Armenia summit took place on Tuesday, May 5, as Armenia seeks to strengthen ties with the EU and distance itself from Russia, according to multiple reports. Armenia’s parliament passed a law in March 2025 to begin the process of joining the EU, according to multiple reports.
However, concrete EU commitments and Russia’s reaction remain unclear. The turning point for Armenia’s shift away from Russia was the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in which Russia did not intervene, according to Armenian government officials. The peace process with Azerbaijan has seen progress, with a landmark agreement signed at the White House in August 2025, according to a White House statement.
Domestically, Prime Minister Pashinyan faces elections in June 2026, according to Armenian electoral officials. Key topics at the summit include US-Iran tensions, the US troop withdrawal from Germany, and the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, according to multiple reports. US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of over 5,000 US troops from Germany over the next year, according to multiple reports.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s parliament voted to suspend ties with the European Parliament over a resolution supporting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, according to the Azerbaijani parliament. Specific outcomes on US-Iran tensions have not been specified. Russia’s reaction to Armenia hosting the summit remains unclear.