Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha invited his Armenian counterpart to visit Ukraine to deepen relations between their countries during what he called a “productive meeting” held in Poland on Tuesday.
“We discussed strengthening our political, economic, and humanitarian relations, both bilaterally and in the wider regional context, as well as practical ways to expand trade and business ties,” Sybiha said after the talks held on the sidelines of a security forum in Warsaw.
“I also invited Minister Mirzoyan to visit Ukraine. Ukraine and Armenia have a solid foundation to deepen our cooperation and advance our bilateral agenda,” he added in a post on X.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two men stressed the importance of “the dynamic continuity of political dialogue” between Kyiv and Yerevan and looked into “possible options for expanding” bilateral commercial ties.
The Armenian government has intensified diplomatic contacts with the Ukrainian side in recent months amid a further escalation of its tensions with Russia. Mirzoyan’s deputy Vahan Kostanian visited Kyiv and briefly spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in mid-August during an official ceremony to mark the 975th anniversary of the establishment of Ukraine’s oldest Christian monastery. The visit followed Zelenskyy’s phone call with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Zelenskyy said he discussed with Pashinian, among other things, the “results” of his May visit to Yerevan that sparked a furious reaction from Russia. Addressing a European summit held in the Armenian capital, the Ukrainian leader implicitly threated to disrupt Russia’s annual Victory Day parade in Moscow with drone strikes.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the “terrorist” threats and Pashinian’s failure to respond to them. Pashinian rejected the criticism. Moscow also deplored Yerevan’s “demonstrative flirtations with the Kyiv regime.”
The diplomatic spat added to the mounting Russian-Armenian tensions that led to Russian bans on imports of agricultural products and mineral water from Armenia. Moscow has been pressuring Yerevan to quickly choose between remaining part of a Russian-led trade bloc and seeking to join the European Union.
“The worst thing that could happen to Armenia is its transformation into a new Ukraine,” Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, warned last week.