Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government officially announced that it will back a bid for Armenia’s membership in the European Union, prompting Moscow to threaten Armenia’s status in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.
The government on Thursday essentially backed a bill on the “start of a process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union” drafted by several political and civic groups, which collected around 60,000 signature in support of the measure.
“The EU has expressed strong political support for Armenia’s democracy on various occasions,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. “The EU has expressed its willingness and has in fact been involved in ensuring a security environment around Armenia.”
Mirzoyan also recalled Pashinian’s 2023 statement that Armenia is “ready to be as close to the EU as the EU deems possible.”
However, Pashinian cautioned that a referendum should be held only after Yerevan discusses the matter with the EU and the two sides agree on a “roadmap” to Armenia’s membership. No EU member state has voiced support for such a prospect so far.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk reacted swiftly, saying that the Armenian government’s decision signaled Yerevan’s desire to withdraw from the EEU, which Armenia chaired last year.
Commenting on the Armenian government’s decision earlier on Thursday, Overchuk said that the EU and the EAEU are incompatible, in particular, because “both unions assume the absence of customs borders and the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce,” Interfax reported.
“We view the start of Armenia’s discussion on the bill launching the process of joining the European Union as the commencement of Armenia’s withdrawal from the EAEU,” the Russian government’s press service quoted Overchuk as saying in a statement.
“The Russian Federation will build its economic policy towards Armenia taking into account this circumstance,” Overchuk added, noting that the decision to launch the process of joining the EU is “a sovereign choice of the Republic of Armenia, to which it is undoubtedly entitled.”
The Kremlin also chimed in, with its spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that Armenia cannot be a member of both the EU and the EEU.
“What does [Armenia’s] membership in the EU mean? Now it’s hard to say, as of course, being a member of two different organizations, hypothetically speaking, is impossible,” Peskov told reporters Thursday.
“Certainly, it is the sovereign right of Armenia. We know that [Armenia’s] membership in the EEU is beneficial,” added the Kremlin spokesperson.
Peskov emphasized that Moscow is interested in peace, stability, and security in the Caucasus, and it will continue to develop relations with both Baku and Yerevan, Tass reported.
“We want peace, stability, predictability, an atmosphere of mutual trust and security in the Caucasus. We have good relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and we attach importance to those relations. And we intend to do everything that depends on us in order to further develop these relations,” Peskov added.
