Russian deputy PM: Armenia's EU aspirations incompatible with EAEU membership

The EU and the EAEU are incompatible, and the arrival of extra-regional players in Armenia "will have consequences".

The statement was made by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk during the 10th international scientific and expert forum "Primakov Readings", Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

According to him, Armenia's political vector is increasingly tilting towards the West.

"There is a well-known half-joke that Nikol Vovayevich uttered in one of his interviews. Answering the question about when he would join the EU if he had the opportunity to choose for himself, Pashinyan joked: 'In this one'." There are also discussions about holding a referendum on joining the EU," Overchuk recalled.

He also pointed out certain resentments in Armenian society towards Russia.

"At least, there is such a point of view, and it should be understood. But it should also be understood that the EU and the EAEU are incompatible. The benefits that some country gets from proximity with Russia, should be perceived as a payment that we pay for our security and strategic depth. So, the arrival of some extra-regional players there will certainly have consequences. We are not in the business of gifts here. We are interested in a stable Armenia, in good trade relations, good brotherly relations," Overchuk said.

Earlier, the head of the Commission on European Integration, Arman Egoyan, at a hearing on the referendum on joining the EU, said that for such a small country as Armenia, membership in the European Union is clearly beneficial, and the question depends only on the way to achieve this goal.

To recall, in October 2023, speaking in the European Parliament, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia is ready to be as close to the European Union as the EU deems possible.