On April 12, the EU breathed a sigh of relief when Hungary ousted long-time Prime Minister Viktor Orban and elected Peter Magyar. Like the elections in Moldova last year, the vote was seen as an ideological battleground between the Kremlin and Brussels. This is what Kal Berdzhikian writes for France 24.
After being elected, Magyar said he wanted to repair his ties with the EU. "Hungary has chosen Europe", said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the results were announced.
Now the bloc's attention is shifting eastward to another former Soviet country that is seen as making a similar choice: Armenia. But it could have long-term consequences for the Armenian people, some observers say.
Lavrov: Armenia has shown understanding of Russia's concerns
The comments came after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan
Armenia's parliamentary elections on June 7 are important for Europe as public opinion in the country - long tied to Russia - now turns to Brussels.
Although the campaign officially begins 30 days before the election, candidates have already announced their candidacies. The current frontrunner in opinion polls is Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, leader of the "Civil Contract" political party. He came to power in 2018 after being elected following the "Velvet Revolution" - a series of anti-government protests. He is seeking re-election with a pro-European campaign.
One of his strongest opponents is Samvel Karapetyan, the Russian-Armenian billionaire who leads the "Strong Armenia" party. In 2025, he was arrested along with 13 others on suspicion of attempting to destabilize the government.
But there are several other pro-European candidates, said Eric Hakobyan, a political analyst at CivilNet, who cited figures such as Hayk Marutyan, the former mayor of Yerevan.
"These are very interesting elections because... you see the creation of a pro-Western opposition that is not of the "old regime" type," Hakobyan said.
He said, "if they really manage to make a breakthrough and enter parliament, it will change our political system in a way that it has not been changed since the 2018 revolution."
Yerevan's ties with Moscow have weakened since 2023, when nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh after the takeover of region from Azerbaijan.
Yerevan has accused Russian peacekeepers stationed in the enclave, previously controlled by Armenians, of failing to stop Baku's military campaign. Armenia has since suspended its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which, like NATO, has a mutual defense clause for its members.
Hakobyan stressed that "this scar will haunt this region for decades, no matter how much they try to bury it", referring to the national mourning following the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, Yerevan is still an active member of the Eurasian Economic Union, which, like the EU, allows the free movement of labor, goods, and capital among its member states: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Russia also maintains a military base in Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city, and the Russian language remains widely spoken.
Because of Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia is no longer seen as a strong defender against Armenia's neighbors, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Pashinyan suggested that his party's loss of the election could lead to more war. And one of the reasons Armenian politicians are courting the EU is that it is associated with "security and prosperity", according to Steve Nix, senior director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Republican Institute (IRI).
In a February 2026 IRI poll, 72% of Armenians now support joining the European Union.
"The EU is very attractive. So any campaign that can convince the Armenian public that it can guarantee peace, prosperity and EU membership... That's the message that will win Armenia," Nix said.
In the same IRI poll, 29% of Armenians said they saw Russia as the biggest political threat to the country, while only 3% said it was the European Union. However, 43% of respondents say Moscow is Yerevan's most important political partner.
"Strong Armenia" is trying to appeal to this base, warning that Armenia could face an "economic war" with Russia if Pashinyan's party remains in power.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Armenia that it could not be part of both the Moscow-led economic union and the European Union.
Brussels is also interfering in the elections. Last December, EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas also said that Armenia had asked for help from the bloc.
"Armenia is having elections and what can we do to help them? They asked for similar help to combat malign influence that we provided to Moldova," Kallas stressed.
Although "malign influence" was not specified in her statement, Marta Coss, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, said in an interview with the magazine "Parliament" that Russian interference in the elections "is already happening".
From May 4 to 5, the bloc will host its first EU-Armenia summit, where Pashinyan will represent Armenia together with Von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, the President of the European Council.
However, this potential ideological confrontation between Moscow, Brussels and the United States is causing concern among some observers, in particular the International Observatory for Democracy in Armenia (IODA). The organization was created to monitor democratic conditions ahead of the June elections, and is composed of international human rights and democracy experts.
Philip Kalfayan, a member of the IODA executive board, pointed out that "from the statements of both the West and Russia, we see that they are trying to make their own choice, and this is unacceptable. They are stealing the elections from the Armenian citizens and are betting a lot of money on this".
One example of this, according to Kalfayan, is the aforementioned EU-Armenia summit, which he believes could show the public that the bloc supports Pashinyan, as it is taking place just a few weeks before the elections.
Politicians are also "weaponizing" allegations that certain parties and political actors are linked to Russia, said Sarah Leah Whitson, a human rights lawyer and member of IODA.
She explained that "the government is stoking concerns about Russian influence or what might happen from Russia - because it knows that this will encourage further support, financial or otherwise, from the EU and the US".
And according to Kalfayan, "the current government has very good relations with Russia. Of course, (Moscow) would prefer someone else who is less aggressive towards them. But ultimately, every Armenian government, regardless of political party, is obliged to have good relations with Russia".