Lavrov accuses Armenia of turning away from Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview with RBC, commented on the arrest of former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan for two months.

“There is another president under investigation, Sargsyan, who, under Kocharyan, was defence minister and then became president. The position of our Foreign Ministry is that we proceed from the interests of the Armenian people. We see how the interests of the Armenian people have been intertwined with the interests of our people for centuries. And always, for very, very long periods of time, we were together, in solidarity with each other. Russia has repeatedly helped the Armenian people and the Armenian leadership in difficult situations. These interests, of course, should prevail.

But now the current representatives of the leadership in Yerevan are guided by other objectives. The goal of orientation toward the European Union has been declared, and a law has been adopted to begin the process of joining the European Union,” he said.

Lavrov added that the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, at their May summit, issued a statement calling on the Armenian leadership to hold a referendum and decide: do you want to join the European Union or do you want to remain in the Eurasian Economic Union?

“In my opinion, this is a completely justified request. The rules of one organization are incompatible with the rules of the other. This has already been said many times.

But Armenian Prime Minister Mr. Pashinyan said: when the time comes, then I will decide. But what does ‘when the time comes’ mean if you have adopted a law to begin Armenia’s accession to the European Union? Just the other day, I read that Mr. Pashinyan said that a referendum could be discussed when an application to the European Union has been submitted, there has been a response to it and a ‘road map’ for this accession has been prepared — then there will be a referendum. In my opinion, this does not speak of very great confidence in Armenian voters and the Armenian people. It is precisely necessary to show an honest choice — between what are you choosing: [joining the European Union and] how you live now, when over the past three years trade turnover has exceeded $6 billion, and in one year reached $12 billion, and the country developed thanks to the Eurasian Economic Union,” Lavrov said.

Commenting on the future of relations between Russia and Armenia, Lavrov said:

“From our side, everything has been done. All our positions, and all the advantages that Armenia has from participating in the Eurasian Economic Union, all the advantages it receives by purchasing energy resources from us at prices three to four times lower than in the European Union. I proceed from the assumption that there are good economists there.

We have regular contacts between the deputy prime ministers. Any issues that concern Armenians can be discussed, including the situation with the South Caucasus Railway, which is under concession to Russian Railways. And we hear with surprise how these issues — if they have already arisen — instead of being discussed with the partner, are immediately brought into the public sphere. A statement is made: ‘We will remove it, it is ours anyway, and in general, you owe us two billion.’ I understand that, apart from assessments based on economic analysis, this provokes emotions in the hearts of our citizens. And I am no exception.”

By Tamilla Hasanova