Russian MFA: EU not waiting for Armenian products with open arms

The EU’s single market is highly competitive and tightly regulated, so Armenian products will not be welcomed there with open arms, Vladislav Maslennikov, an official from the Russian Foreign Ministry, has said.

In an interview with Russian media, he called on Armenia not to expect favourable conditions for its products, Caliber.Az reports.

“The harsh reality is that the EU’s internal market is highly competitive and heavily regulated, and Armenian products will certainly not be welcomed there with open arms,” he emphasised.

He noted that countries seeking EU membership can wait for years for a decision on their accession. "In some cases, the waiting period can stretch for decades," Maslennikov stressed.

On September 24, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Problems warned that the support measures promised to Armenia by the European Union were far removed from reality.

He described the support measures offered by Brussels to Armenia as declarative.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov