Despite restrictions on market access to Russia, strained relations between the two countries, economic threats, and Armenia's authorities' aspirations to approach the European Union, Russia remains Armenia's largest trading partner according to May data. In the first five months of 2026, Armenia's foreign trade with the rest of the world amounted to approximately $7.9 billion, of which 28 percent — nearly $2.2 billion — was trade with Russia.
The statistics committee published these figures today. According to this data, although Russia is first among trading partners, its share is decreasing rapidly. Last year, during the same period, the two countries traded about $600 million more, accounting for 35.1 percent of the total.
“We will continue to work calmly, peacefully, without nerves and without disputes within the Eurasian Economic Union. I am confident that we still have potential in this direction that we will utilize in the near future,” stated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Although trade with the European Union is growing, it does not fully compensate for the decline in trade with Russia. In the first five months of this year, Armenia traded with all EU countries for about $1.4 billion, which is about 17 percent of the total.
Last year, during the same period, trade with EU countries was $420 million less, or about 12 percent of the total.
Moreover, during the first five months of this year, it was not the export of one billion dollars from Armenia to Russia that sharply decreased, but the imports, despite Moscow now banning the entry of Armenian goods into Russia — from agricultural products to alcoholic beverages, from fish to flowers and mineral water.
The impact of Russian restrictions on Armenian exports will become evident in the statistics of the coming months, as restrictions were imposed precisely during this active harvest season.
According to official data, supplies from Russia have decreased by more than 30 percent. In the first five months of this year, over $500 million less Russian products entered the Armenian market compared to 2025.
The main driver of growth in trade with the EU, however, is Armenia's exports. More than $450 million of Armenian goods have already reached EU countries — almost twice as much as during the same period last year.
