Russia intelligence: EU demands Armenian Orthodox Church's expulsion from Armenia

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accuses the European Union of aggressively removing the Russian Orthodox Church from Armenia. According to the SVR, the EU has made Armenia's European integration conditional on a complete break in centuries-old religious and spiritual ties with Moscow.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) levelled serious accusations against the European Union, alleging that Brussels has begun actively expelling the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) from Armenia. According to the SVR, the EU has made Armenia's path to European integration conditional on a complete severing of centuries-old religious and spiritual ties with Moscow.

The Russian intelligence service claims that the European Union has "aggressively begun" pushing the Orthodox Church out of Armenia, making this one of the conditions that Yerevan must fulfil to move closer to European structures. Such conduct constitutes interference in the country's internal affairs, the SVR argues, and is aimed at weakening Russia's cultural and religious influence in the former Soviet space.

Armenia has increasingly oriented itself westwards in recent years, distancing itself from its historical ally Russia. The country has begun engagement with the European Union and continued negotiations on a possible association agreement. Moscow has interpreted this development as a threat to its traditional sphere of influence in the South Caucasus.

The SVR accusations form part of a broader Russian information operation designed to portray EU enlargement as cultural and religious aggression rather than support for political choice and democratic reforms. The European Union itself has not commented on these claims.