Armenia will soon lose interest in joining EU – Russian foreign minister

Armenia’s and Serbia’s desire to join the European Union will “disappear very soon,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

According to the minister, the European Union is losing its economic advantages, although some countries continue to seek membership in the bloc.

“Economically, the European Union, due to many factors, including its short-sightedness, not to say stupidity, is losing its advantages,” Lavrov added.

He noted that Armenia and Serbia continue to speak about their desire to join the EU.

“Our Serbian friends, and now our Armenian colleagues as well, continue to say: we want to join the European Union. I am sure that this desire will disappear very soon,” the Russian foreign minister stressed.

In March 2025, the Armenian parliament passed a law initiating the country’s process of joining the European Union. In late August 2026, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Yerevan planned to formally apply for EU membership in the near future.

On September 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with Pashinyan that Armenia’s simultaneous membership in the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was impossible. According to Putin, launching the EU accession process would effectively amount to Armenia declaring its withdrawal from the EAEU.

Putin called for a referendum on choosing between the two blocs. Pashinyan, however, said Armenia had effectively abandoned the idea after the adoption of the law on European integration. The prime minister had previously confirmed that Yerevan understood that simultaneous membership in the EU and EAEU was impossible.

By Jeyhun Aghazada