Pashinyan assessed the attitude of Armenian citizens towards rapprochement with the EU

Armenian society is positively inclined towards rapprochement with the European Union (EU). This was stated by the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 22.

"I dare not say that there is a public consensus on the issue of rapprochement with the EU. But there is no doubt that there is a positive attitude in the society on this issue. It turns out that this agenda of Armenia and the EU was proposed by me," Pashinyan said in an interview with Armenia' s Public Television Company.

In his opinion, there is no political logic to be against holding a referendum on EU membership.

Earlier, on July 1, Pashinyan deemed it inexpedient to hold a referendum for EU membership, but expressed confidence that the people of the republic have European aspirations.

In May, Pashinyan declared Armenia's readiness to join the EU in 2024.

In April, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the West was only giving Armenia the role of a tool for "fueling the fire" in the Caucasus. In his turn, Yerevan's Ambassador to the EU Tigran Balayan emphasized that the turn of the republic's foreign policy towards closer relations with the EU does not pose a threat to Russia's interests in the Transcaucasus.

Prior to that, in mid-March, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said that Yerevan is developing a new document on cooperation with the EU, which is planned to be signed in July. According to him, in case of full implementation of the agreement on comprehensive and expanded partnership between Armenia and the EU, the republic will have "the status of readiness of a candidate country for EU membership.