Overchuk called the discussion of EU accession in Armenia the beginning of the country's exit from the EAEU

Russia considers the beginning of the discussion of the draft law on joining the European Union (EU) in Armenia as the beginning of the country's withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This was stated by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk on January 9.

"We consider the beginning of discussion in Armenia of the draft law "On launching the process of accession to the European Union" as the beginning of Armenia's exit from the EAEU. The Russian Federation will build its economic policy towards Armenia taking into account this circumstance," he said.

At the same time, Overchuk emphasized that this is Armenia's sovereign choice, to which it has the right.

Block freeze: Armenia is not going to leave the CSTO now

How the Republic's relations with the organization will develop and what Yerevan needs the West for

Earlier in the day, the Armenian government approved a draft law on starting the process of the state's accession to the European Union. Prime Minister of the Transcaucasian republic Nikol Pashinyan specified that after the adoption of the initiative, Yerevan needs to develop a corresponding roadmap with Brussels.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out on the same day that it is hypothetically impossible to combine membership in the EU and the EAEU because the two associations are significantly different. Besides, cooperation in the EAEU is beneficial for Yerevan.

Ruslan Andreev, an expert of the Polylog Group and political consultant, pointed out in a conversation with Izvestia that the Armenian government supports the course of European integration only in its personal political interests in order to "demonstrate its strength and victory". The country will never be accepted into the EU, particularly because of its geographical location.

In April 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova pointed out that the West is only using the republic to "fuel the fire" in the Caucasus. For his part, Armenian Ambassador to the EU Tigran Balayan pointed out that Yerevan's foreign policy turn towards rapprochement with the EU does not threaten Russia's interests in the Transcaucasus.