LDPR leader: Pashinyan is stepping on the "Ukrainian rake"

ArmInfo. Armenia's European integration policy is not receiving reciprocity, and Yerevan's aspirations are fraught with endless waiting in the hopes of becoming part of the European Union. This was stated by Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.

"Pashinyan, as I have said many times, is stepping on the 'Ukrainian rake.' Yerevan has effectively chosen the path of European integration without any legal guarantees of reciprocity. Yerevan has been warned: it cannot have it both ways. Either membership in the EAEU, with its market and trade advantages, or the thorny path to unification with the EU, with an endless wait in the anteroom. "But that's their choice," the Russian politician said, according to TASS.

The parliamentarian also noted that the current Armenian authorities, with their pursuit of European integration, have seriously jeopardized their long-standing cooperation with Russia and thereby weakened their own economy, which is primarily oriented toward the Russian market.

On May 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to journalists, suggested that Armenia decide on its membership in the EU and the EAEU as soon as possible, expressing its readiness to "begin a civilized divorce" if necessary. Yerevan responded by noting that it would leave the EAEU whenever it deemed it necessary. And on May 29, the heads of four of the five EAEU countries adopted a resolution recommending that Armenia hold a referendum on its continued membership in the EAEU. On the same day, the Russian president stated that Armenia could not sit on two chairs and needed to make a choice as soon as possible.

It should be noted that on January 9, 2025, the Armenian government approved a draft law on the beginning of the process of joining the European Union, proposed by the "Eurakve" civic initiative. The draft was sent to the Armenian parliament for approval. On March 26, the parliament adopted it in its final reading and sent it to the president for signature. The document was signed on April 4 of that year. Moscow stated that Russia had conveyed to Armenia that simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union was impossible.