“Warm congratulations to Nikol Pashinian on elections victory,” tweeted European Council President Charles Michel.
“The EU stands by Armenia in support of deepening reforms,” he wrote. “We are also ready to further support regional stabilization and comprehensive conflict settlement.”
The EU announced last week that it has allocated almost 1 million euros ($1.2 million) for the proper conduct of the snap elections aimed at ending a serious political crisis in the country. Much of that money was provided to local election observers.
“I call upon all electoral stakeholders, their supporters and those who use the mass media and social media to increase efforts to contribute to making June 20 a day in which democracy wins, for the future of Armenian children,” Andrea Wiktorin, the head of EU Delegation in Yerevan, said on June 17.
Michel and Pashinian met in Brussels as recently as on June 2. A continuing border dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reportedly high on the agenda of their talks.
Michel also had a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev later that day. A spokesman said he told Pashinian and Aliyev that the EU is “ready to provide expertise on border delimitation and demarcation and to support confidence building.”