RF FM: Armenian authorities must demonstrate fair choice between EU  and EAEU

ArmInfo. The current leadership in Yerevan has declared its goal of aligning itself with  the European Union. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister  Sergey Lavrov.

In an interview with RBC, commenting on the arrest of Armenia's  second president, Robert Kocharyan, and the Russian Foreign  Ministry's position, Lavrov noted that another president, Serzh  Sargsyan, who served as defense minister under Kocharyan and later  became president, is under investigation in Armenia. "Our Foreign  Ministry's position is that we proceed from the interests of the  Armenian people. We see how the interests of the Armenian people have  been intertwined with the interests of our people for centuries. And  we have always, for long, long periods of time, stood together, in  solidarity with one another. Russia has repeatedly rescued the  Armenian people and the Armenian leadership in difficult situations.  These interests, of course, should prevail. But now the current  leadership in Yerevan is guided by other objectives. The goal of  focusing on the European Union has been declared, and a law has been  adopted to begin the process of joining the European Union," the  Russian diplomat said.

In this vein, he recalled that the countries of the Eurasian Economic  Union (EAEU) issued a statement at their May summit calling on the  Armenian leadership to hold a referendum and decide whether they want  to join the European Union or remain within the Eurasian Economic  Union.

"In my opinion, this is a completely justified request. The norms of  one organization are incompatible with the norms of another. This has  already been said many times. But the Prime Minister of Armenia, Mr.   Pashinyan, said: when the time comes, then I will decide. But what  does 'when the time comes' mean if you have passed a law on Armenia's  accession to the European Union? Just the other day, I read that Mr.   Pashinyan said that we can talk about a referendum when an  application to the European Union is submitted, there is a reaction  to it, and a roadmap for this accession is prepared - then there will  be a referendum. This, in my opinion, does not indicate a great deal  of trust in Armenian voters and the Armenian people. What is needed  is to show an honest choice - what are you choosing between: [joining  the European Union] and how you live now, when trade turnover has  exceeded $6 billion over the past three years, and in one year  reached $12 billion, and the country has developed thanks to the  Eurasian Economic Union," Lavrov noted.

When asked how Russia could avoid the mistakes made in Ukraine in the  Armenian case, the Russian Foreign Minister assured that Moscow had  done everything possible. "All our positions, all the advantages  Armenia enjoys from participating in the Eurasian Economic Union, all  the advantages it receives from purchasing energy from us at three to  four times the price of the European Union. I assume there are good  economists there. We have regular contacts between the deputy prime  ministers," the Russian minister said.

He then touched on the electoral processes in Armenia, noting that,  as in the case of Moldova, the elections were held with the strong  participation of the European Union.

"And now, by the way, the European Union-I believe there's already  one mission there that fought hybrid threats during the June 7  elections. Some peacekeepers are still there, and there's talk of  deploying more.  This is sad. Especially since in both Moldova and  Armenia, the EU is directly interfering in the electoral processes,  trying to influence them. True, not as rudely as a year ago in  Romania, when no amount of campaigning helped, and the leader was  simply removed from the race after the first round without  explanation-and that was it," the diplomat said.

"Probably, in Armenia and other countries flirting with the EU, there  are analysts-I have no doubt about it-smart, observant people. They  simply need to finally understand what the European Union is and what  benefits they hope to gain," the Russian minister concluded.