The shortest route from Central Asia to Europe - Pashinyan

2026-05-26

On May 25, 2026, during a speech at a pre-election rally in the city of Gyumri, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated:

"Interesting things are happening. We have not noticed this before, but international experts, who have been closely monitoring the processes taking place in Armenia since August 8, 2025, have noticed that the shortest route from west to east and from east to west passes through the Tavush, Lore and Shirak provinces of the Republic of Armenia," Pashinyan said.

“The Shortest Route”

“We are completing, or rather have completed, the Shirak region [railway] section, the Ashtarak-Gyumri north-south section, but now international investors are paying close attention and have already approached us with a new proposal to build a new east-west highway, which will also pass through Shirak province, Tavush region, Lori region, and in parallel with the railway, in the coming years we will also start building a highway, which will be the shortest route connecting Central Asia with the West,” the Armenian Prime Minister said.

Pashinyan called the plans “epochal,” saying, “These changes promise tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in Armenia and the Shirak region. Tens of thousands of jobs in the Shirak region. And the Shirak region will no longer be one of the poor regions of Armenia.”

He did not provide specific details — who these investors are, how much money such a project would cost, or other issues.

Two days earlier, on May 24, Nikol Pashinyan said that “the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway, like the Azerbaijani railway, is now open for export from Armenia and import to Armenia.” He thanked Georgia and Turkey for their cooperation.

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