Yerevan /Mediamax/. Jacob Wöllenstein, head of the Political Dialogue South Caucasus program at Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, believes that Nikol Pashinyan’s government must fulfill its promises on reforms and rooting corruption within its own ranks.

Wöllenstein writes about it in the article “Foiled Coup in Armenia? Conflict with Church Leadership Escalates”, published on the website of the Adenauer Foundation.

In the concluding part of the article, the author writes:

“The recent turmoil lays bare the immense pressure under which Armenia’s government now operates. The challenges - both domestic and geopolitical - are formidable. Prime Minister Pashinyan faces a growing array of adversaries, many of whom are not merely hoping for his failure but actively working to bring it about. If, as seems plausible, Russia has indeed played a covert role in recent events, then Armenia’s democratically elected leadership is contending with opponents who do not play by the rules of constitutional order or fair political competition.

Should concrete evidence of a Kremlin-backed coup attempt emerge, a firm legal response against proven conspirators would be justified. But even that would not excuse the rhetorical excesses that have alienated even some of Pashinyan’s supporters. In a region as geopolitically volatile as the South Caucasus, Armenia needs more than just resilience - it needs allies.

The late-June visit of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas was widely seen as historic. Her pledges of continued support from Brussels and EU member states were warmly welcomed. But symbolic gestures must be matched by substance. Armenia’s Western partners must help the country diversify its energy sources, strengthen its economy, and build democratic resilience from the ground up.

For ultimately, the strongest guarantor of any democracy is its people. It is the government’s task to bring the public along on the difficult path toward regional reconciliation, open borders, strategic decoupling from Russia, and deeper integration with the West. Encouragingly, on July 1st, Pashinyan pledged to refrain from using inflammatory language in public discourse. But words alone will not suffice. His administration must also deliver on its promises - particularly on reform and rooting out corruption within its own ranks.