Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that extraordinary municipal council elections must be held in Gyumri after the June 7 elections.
He also spoke about upcoming development projects in Armenia’s Shirak Province.
Pashinyan said that since 2018, Gyumri’s municipal authorities had pursued a completely different agenda, claiming that “the goal was to turn Gyumri’s residents against the government,” according to «Armenpress».
“There was an effort to spread disappointment toward the government while also convincing the government that everything in Gyumri was progressing as it should. I now understand that we owe a great debt in restoring Gyumri,” Pashinyan said. He added that from this moment onward, he personally assumes responsibility and obligation for all processes taking place in Gyumri, including the city’s welfare and reconstruction.
Addressing residents of all communities in Shirak Province from Gyumri’s Vardanants Square, the prime minister also announced that an important event had taken place on the first day of the government’s visit to Shirak Province: the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway had opened for exports from and imports to Armenia.
“As a result, Armenia gained railway access to European Union countries, non-EU European states such as Macedonia, Montenegro and the United Kingdom, as well as access to the markets of Turkey and Syria. This is a very important event because we have overcome the first stage of Armenia’s unblocking process. We now have railway links both westward and eastward. This is only the first stage, not the final one, and major developments still lie ahead,” he stressed.
Pashinyan recalled that the next step would be implementation of the TRIPP project, through which the railway passing through Meghri will reopen. He said the TRIPP project would operate on the basis of Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders.
According to Pashinyan, TRIPP is one of Armenia’s most promising economic development projects.
“All those who accused us of planning to hand over corridors, of promising corridors, or of undermining Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are now facing failure. The TRIPP project is the strongest symbol of Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction and unblocking, and the country’s most promising economic initiative. It is very important how Syunik Province responds to this. Real estate and land prices are rising in Syunik and Meghri because people understand that Armenia, Syunik and Meghri are becoming a crossroads of peace. Meghri and Syunik are transforming from a periphery into a center. Armenia is turning from a dead end of war into a crossroads of peace,” he said.
The prime minister also outlined expected projects in Shirak Province, emphasizing that major developments are anticipated there as well.
“In the near future, we are launching renovation of the Akhurik railway junction and preparing for the reopening of the Akhurik-Akyaka railway. International experts have also closely followed developments in Armenia since August 8, 2025, and noticed that the shortest route from West to East, or East to West, passes through Armenia’s Tavush, Lori and Shirak provinces. International investors have now approached us with a new proposal to build a new East-West highway, which, like the North-South route, will pass through Shirak, Tavush and Lori provinces. In the coming years, alongside the railway, we will also begin construction of this motorway, which will serve the East-West corridor and become the shortest route linking Central Asia with the West,” Pashinyan stated, adding that the projects would bring millions of dollars in investment to Armenia.
According to the prime minister, these developments will transform Armenia into a prosperous and developed state because the country, including Shirak Province, is becoming a crossroads of peace.
“Today some people criticize this symbol loved by the public,” he said while pointing to a map of Armenia representing the country’s internationally recognized territory. “They accuse us of not wearing maps of a ‘Greater Armenia from sea to sea’ on our chests. The reason is simple: that ideology means new wars for Armenia. New wars in which none of the children of the warmongering political forces will participate or die. Moreover, those speaking today about a ‘Greater Armenia from sea to sea’ all own apartments, villas and islands outside Armenia. Armenia is not a place to live for them; it is a place where they come to exploit people and buy homes in Greece, Dubai, Europe and America. They want to drag us into new conflicts and wars with false patriotic slogans. But we say that the homeland is the state. We love our homeland, the Republic of Armenia, and we will no longer allow it to become a battlefield of conflicts and wars. We want future generations to live in Armenia freely and happily for centuries,” Pashinyan added.
The election campaign that began on May 8 will continue until June 5. June 6 will be a day of silence, and voting will take place on June 7.
