Post-Velvet Revolution Armenia's Foreign Policy Challenges

In the decades since independence, Armenian foreign policy has prioritized complementarity—as articulated by then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanyan in 1998—and national interests in carrying out activities with external actors. These concepts will continue to be driving forces behind Armenian foreign policy under the new government. As such, Armenia will deepen its interactions with the EU, the United States, and regional players, albeit within the framework determined by strategic relations with Russia, the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and closed borders with Turkey. Despite Armenia's best efforts to balance the interests of different regional players, it may find itself affected by changes to the regional geopolitical environment. The security threats that existed before the revolution due to the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and historico-political relations with Turkey will persist, and it is important to develop political and economic dialogue with China, aimed primarily at integrating Armenia into "One Belt, One Road."