YEREVAN — “There is one official language in our country, and that is Armenian. This status cannot change under any circumstances,” said Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan in a conversation with journalists at the National Assembly.
Her remarks came in response to a recent statement by the Chair of the Federation Council of Russia, Valentina Matviyenko, during her visit to Armenia. Matviyenko noted that Armenia has not ratified the agreement related to the International Organization of the Russian Language, adding that she raised this issue with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who reportedly promised to promote the matter.
When asked what this agreement entails and whether Armenia indeed intends to join it, Andreasyan responded:
“There are various proposals circulating within these platforms. This is just one of them. It has also circulated among several government agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other partners. We’ve conducted some reviews regarding the proposal. I believe this is a standard working process. These drafts are circulated precisely for the purpose of being discussed and improved. Future discussions will reveal the state’s official position. At this stage, we have provided some feedback on the proposal.”
She continued:
“As you know, Russian is an important language of communication in our region. Naturally, proficiency in Russian helps foster, for example, economic relations and public development opportunities. This is yet another initiative aimed at strengthening these ties and improving Russian language proficiency. But again, I must stress that we have raised a number of questions and observations during this process, and we are still in a working phase.”
When asked whether this would result in a new status for the Russian language in Armenia, Andreasyan firmly stated:
“No, such a thing is not possible. As you know, our country has one official language—Armenian—and that status cannot be changed under any circumstances. In fact, we are currently preparing to introduce a new language policy framework that will further reinforce the status of Armenian as the state language.
“It’s one thing to declare Armenian as the official language; it’s another to look at the real situation across different sectors and contexts. That’s why a well-defined language policy framework is important—to monitor and support the development and strengthening of the Armenian language.”
Andreasyan added:
“We are currently implementing several programs aimed at enhancing the digital vitality of the Armenian language. In this era of technological advancement, the development of Armenian as a language must also extend into the digital sphere. We need to create Armenian language datasets and ensure the language has a strong presence in the digital domain, which is essential for its long-term vitality. We have new budget-funded programs specifically aimed at boosting linguistic sustainability.”
