President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, June 8, congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his election victory and urged the European Union to strengthen support for Armenia following the vote. According to preliminary election results reported by AFP, Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party won 49.8% of the vote, comfortably ahead of the 23.3% secured by the Strong Armenia alliance led by Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Congratulations to Armenia on holding democratic and free elections, and to Nikol Pashinyan on his victory,” Zelensky wrote on X. The Ukrainian president said the result represented “a victory of Armenia’s sovereignty, independence and right to live as you determine yourselves.” European leaders welcome election result European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated Pashinyan, praising Armenia’s democratic path and its growing partnership with the European Union. “The spirit of the Velvet Revolution you led in 2018 is alive and well,” von der Leyen wrote on social media. “We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas similarly welcomed the result, saying Armenians appeared to have voted for a “European future” despite what she described as significant Russian pressure. “The votes are being counted, but it looks like now that Armenia’s people, although under heavy Russian pressure, still chose to have a European future,” Kallas said.