Canada becomes first non-European nation to attend EPC summit in Armenia as Carney looks for alternatives

Canada is all set to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community, with Prime Minister Mark Carney joining the summit on Monday in Armenia. With this visit, Carney aims to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under American President Donald Trump.

His presence would also reflect the Western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia. However, it is pertinent to note that the Canadian diplomats have rejected suggestions that Ottawa might seek EU membership. Trump's plan to remove troops from Germany and the US's unilateral decision to go to war in Iran would be among the main subjects of discussion in Yerevan.

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Armenia shares a border with Iran, but unlike neighbouring Azerbaijan, has not alleged that Iranian missiles have landed in its territory. Yerevan was chosen to host the EPC, an institution championed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and which also includes the UK, to strengthen Armenia's ties with Europe.

Armenia-EU summit on the cards

The day after hosting the EPC, Yerevan will prepare for the first bilateral summit between Armenia and the EU on Tuesday. The summit would result in the bloc's offering extra funding to promote democracy as well as visa liberalisation in the Central Asian nation.

Interestingly, when the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, visited the country in March, she declared that “Armenia and the EU have never been closer”. The country of 3 million people signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with the EU in 2017. Last year, it adopted a law formally declaring its intention to apply for membership of the bloc, taking the country in a very different political direction from neighbouring Georgia.

Currently, Armenia is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) alliance. However, in 2024, Armenia froze its membership in the latter.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Armenia could not be a member of both the EU and CSTO. “It’s simply impossible by definition,” the Russian president told Pashinyan. However, Macron has been one of the strongest champions of the closer European-Armenian ties and his attendance at the Yerevan summit is being given a state-visit-level importance. Hence, it will be interesting to see how the summit will pan out.