Pashinyan and Putin will meet at the SCO summit and discuss Yerevan`s aspirations for EU membership, Ushakov said.

ArmInfo. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan to discuss Yerevan's aspirations for European Union (EU) membership. This was announced by Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, as reported by RBC.

According to him, the Russian side continues to insist that Armenia cannot aspire to EU membership and simultaneously reap the enormous benefits of cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Ushakov also reported that the Russian President and Armenian Prime Minister will separately address the arrests of Armenian opposition leaders who advocated for the development of friendly relations with Russia. "This conversation will take place against what I would call an unusual backdrop, when opposition leaders are being arrested en masse, especially those leaders who advocate and have advocated for strengthening the traditional good-neighborly relations between our two countries. So, this topic will undoubtedly be addressed. And, of course, this line of the Armenian leadership is of great concern to us," Ushakov concluded.

It should be noted that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced from the parliamentary rostrum on August 24 that the country intends to apply for EU membership in the near future. He also expressed his belief that the country should hold a referendum on joining the EU or the EAEU only after applying for EU membership and receiving a response.