Kaja Kallas praises Armenian people’s choice for European future

EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has lauded the Armenian people for choosing a European future despite what she described as “heavy Russian pressure,” following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party being named the winner in the parliamentary elections.

She made the remarks upon arrival in Nicosia for the informal meeting of EU Defense Ministers.

“I want to say a few words on Armenia. I think the turnout was really good, and of course, the votes are being counted. But it looks like now that Armenia's people, although under heavy Russian pressure, still chose to have a European future, which is a good thing. Of course, we are trying to help them as much as possible, also on their future reforms,” the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said.

On Monday, the Central Electoral Commission released the preliminary results of the vote count from all polling stations in the parliamentary elections held on June 7.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party garnered the most votes—727,160, or 49.81%. Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia came in second with 340,062 votes, or 23.29%, followed by former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance, which received 145,097 votes, or 9.94%. Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia party received 58,368 votes, surpassing the 4% threshold.