Armenian Prime Minister has said that Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in bilateral working-level discussions on energy and infrastructure connectivity, including electricity transmission lines, while stressing that there is nothing new about the planned end of operations at the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant.

Nikol Pashinyan made the remarks in response to the questions about recent statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who spoke about the possible closure of Armenia’s nuclear power plant and said Azerbaijan was ready to supply electricity to Armenia.

“Visits by Azerbaijani specialists to Armenia should not be considered a surprise, noting that bilateral working processes have been publicly reported. On September 5, 2025, there was a press release about a meeting between the delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and working processes took place both in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Another visit, focused on railway issues, took place on January 15, 2026. The bilateral discussions cover a range of infrastructure issues, including electricity transmission lines, pipelines, cables and railways. We have said before that we are working on electricity transmission lines, pipelines, cables and railways, and bilateral work is taking place”, - said Nikol Pashinyan.

Addressing the issue of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, he noted the expiration of its operating period has long been established and is also reflected in Armenia’s international agreements signed by previous governments.

At the same time, Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia’s changing energy needs require the country to reconsider its long-term energy strategy. He noted that Armenia had until recently been described as having a surplus of electricity, but the situation could change as large-scale artificial intelligence projects and data centers develop in the country: “We need to talk about the fact that Armenia may have a demand for electricity… The significant amounts of electricity consumed by AI facilities. Plans for new AI-related facilities in Armenia could require the country to reassess its energy strategy and develop sufficient generation capacity to meet future demand”.

As Pashinyan added, Armenia’s strategic objective remains achieving “100% energy independence,” primarily through the development of solar power and energy storage facilities: “Armenia has significant solar resources. Expanding both solar generation and storage capacity would be central to the country’s energy strategy… Greater energy independence would not mean withdrawing from international electricity trade. Sometimes we can export, sometimes we can import, including potentially having partnership and cooperation with Azerbaijan in terms of exporting and importing electricity… Armenia could pursue similar energy cooperation with other neighboring countries, including Türkiye, Iran and Georgia”.