Russian Foreign Ministry: Brussels` promised support measures for Armenia are far from reality

ArmInfo. The support measures promised by Brussels for Armenia are far from reality. Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated this in an interview with RIA Novosti.

In July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would provide Yerevan with €52 million in aid. She also

promised that 80 percent of Armenian goods entering the EU market would be duty-free.

"The support measures currently being offered to Armenia by the EU are largely declaratory in nature," the diplomat noted.

The EU's internal market is highly competitive and regulated, and Armenian products will not be welcomed there with open arms. Meanwhile, candidate countries have been waiting decades for membership in the community, Maslennikov recalled.

Last spring, the republic adopted a law to begin the EU accession process. Since then, Vladimir Putin has repeatedly called on the Armenian leadership to resolve the issue of participation in the EAEU as soon as possible. According to him, Yerevan has the right to choose its own partners, but it cannot be a member of two organizations simultaneously. He also warned that by leaving the Eurasian bloc, Armenia would lose access to free trade agreements, face stricter requirements for trucking companies, and higher fuel prices, which would cost the country 14 percent of GDP.