Political analyst: Russia intends to determine which "Camp" Armenia  will choose through a referendum

ArmInfo. Russia is insisting on a referendum on Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) or the European Union (EU) in order to ascertain the foreign policy choice made by the country. Political analyst and  observer Beniamin Matevosyan expressed this opinion on his Telegram  channel, noting that the necessity of such a move is not entirely  clear to everyone.

He clarified that Russia is preparing for war with the EU, and it is  important for Moscow to know which camp Armenia will be in—the camp  of Russia's allies or the camp of those who will "storm Russian  territories." "That is why a referendum is needed to provide a  definitive answer as to where the Armenian people see themselves. Not  an election whose results are presented as a referendum in support of  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's course, but a separate,  full- fledged referendum," Matevosyan noted.

According to him, if the choice favors the course of the ruling  "Civil Contract" party, Moscow will absolve itself of responsibility  for what happens to Armenia afterward.

 "For the Armenian side, it certainly won't come to an assault on  Russian territory: Turkey is right next door, and to expedite  military logistics to Armenia, it has begun restoring a section of  the railway to Gyumri, Armenia. But this will no longer be Moscow's  responsibility. It's difficult and unpleasant to say all this, but  that's the reality," the expert noted.

The political scientist also noted that the Armenian side's excuses  are in no way connected to the actual state of affairs. In this  regard, he recalled how, during a meeting with Russian President  Vladimir Putin in April, Pashinyan declared that he "recognized  Karabakh (Artsakh - ed.) as part of Azerbaijan after the Russian  leadership had done so twice." "The Russian leadership has already  stated more than twice the need to hold a referendum in Armenia.  What's the delay? The reality is that Pashinyan's April statement is  yet another justification for surrendering Artsakh, which has nothing  to do with the real motives that prompted him to do so," the  political analyst concluded.