Zakharova: The big question is whether Armenia is truly wanted in the  EU 

ArmInfo.Armenia's potential accession to the European Union is indeed incompatible with the  country's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as noted by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova,  during a weekly briefing on June 19.

In response to a journalist's remark that Yerevan claims membership  in the EU and the EAEU are incompatible, Zakharova retorted: "Here,  you can't deny realism. This is, indeed, quite complicated."

At the same time, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry  called to hold things at a time.  "Armenia's potential accession to  the European Union is indeed incompatible with the country's  membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. It seems to me that this  has been reiterated by the Russian side, with specific arguments. It  is obvious that the benefits that the EAEU brings to Yerevan, namely  the Armenian people, are incomparable to the empty and  unsubstantiated promises of Brussels,," Zakharova said. She  emphasized that this is a factual reality. 

According to her, the benefits of the EAEU are clearly shown in  figures and facts, and " it has long been known who and how Brussels  is deceiving." " The status of a candidate is not even being  discussed, and the accession process can drag on for decades. The big  question is whether Armenia is truly wanted in the European Union or  it is simply seen as just a convenient geopolitical tool at this  point in time," she added, noting that this is how the EU "played"  with a number of states. She is sure that once the EU loses interest,  everything will be immediately withdrawn, including hypothetical  promises. The diplomat also highlighted that in the case of European  integration, Yerevan will lose the opportunity to market its goods  within the EAEU's common market. 

 "This is a fact. Customs duties will also increase significantly,  resulting in higher prices for Armenian consumers and decreased  competitiveness of national products," she noted. Zakharova added  that everything needs to be explained in detail, so that later the  Armenian people do not ask why they were not informed about it.