Armenia may find itself in dire straits if it believes in the empty promises of the European Union regarding access to the common European market and decides to sever ties with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union for that purpose. This was reported by TASS, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the report "Friends of Armenia Network" on deepening EU-Armenia relations, prepared under the leadership of former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
"According to the report, Yerevan is urged to withdraw from the EAEU, in which Armenia, by the way, is the main beneficiary. At the same time, it is not disclosed when and under what conditions Armenians will gain access to the EU common market. It may happen that, following the empty promises of the European Union, the residents of the republic will find themselves in dire straits," the ministry pointed out.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that "it is impossible to shake off the feeling that the European Union sees Armenia solely as a source of resources and profit for Europe." "At the same time, they consider it normal for the country's interests and priorities to be determined from Brussels," the ministry added.
BMG reported that Armenian-Russian relations are currently experiencing a crisis. Against the backdrop of growing tension in relations, Armenia informed Russia through official channels of the need to withdraw Russian border guards from the Zvartnots airport in Yerevan, which became another twist exacerbating bilateral contradictions.
On March 27, a group of European diplomats and parliamentarians, led by former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, published a report entitled "Friends of Armenia Network." The report notes that previously the European Union showed insufficient interest in cooperation with Armenia in the field of security. The authors of the document call on the EU to take bold steps towards supporting Armenia.
Earlier, Armenia's minister of finance Vahe Hovhannisyan expressed concerns regarding the potential exit of the country from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), highlighting the risks associated with its economic dependency on Russia.
Russia holds the top position in terms of trade volume with Armenia. In January of the current year, trade turnover with Russia increased by 93%, amounting to 861 million dollars in monetary value. The share of Russia in the structure of Armenia's foreign trade turnover also increased from 37% to 40.1% compared to the previous year.
Armenia joined the EAEU on January 2nd, 2015, becoming part of the economic bloc supervised by Russia. Experts then noted that the decision to join was motivated not only by economic considerations but also by security concerns.
