ArmInfo. At a meeting of the EAEU Council in Moscow, a question was voiced related to the functioning of Armenian driver's licenses in the Russian Federation. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic Shavarsh Kocharyan stated this from the rostrum of the National Assembly of Armenia on September 10, answering the corresponding question of MP from the "My Step" bloc Vagharshak Hakobyan.
"This issue is being discussed in two directions - multilateral and bilateral. Multilateral - because the EAEU agreement does not imply such restrictions. At the bilateral level, this issue is discussed because the restriction was introduced under Russian law and the law was adopted in such a way that the restrictions concern only Armenian drivers, "the Armenian diplomat said, adding that work in this direction continues and Yerevan hopes to achieve a result.
It should be noted that according to Russian law, the driver's license of Armenia is not recognized in Russia if the car is used not for personal purposes, but for paid work. At the same time, driver licenses of all EAEU member states, except Armenia, are recognized in Russia, which caused Yerevan's indignation.
In this regard, on September 4, the Deputy Chief of Police of Armenia Hovhannes Kocharian stated that business and the provision of other services using vehicles may be prohibited in the republic in case of using a foreign driver's license. He noted that this rule will not apply to citizens of the EAEU countries, in the event of a "mutual friendly approach".
Some experts believe that, in fact, this decision is the "answer" of Russia, where a law was passed prohibiting people with foreign driver's licenses from working in the Russian Federation, with the exception of those countries where Russian is the second official language. Armenia is the only EAEU country where the Russian language does not have official status.