Armenia`s vigorously drawing closer to EU to affect its relations  with Russia and EAEU

ArmInfo. At a certain point, the EU leadership will demand Armenia's full political solidarity, including with Brussels' anti-Russian policies. This was stated by  Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview with TASS.

"At a certain point, Brussels begins to demand full solidarity with  its foreign policy, which is currently openly anti-Russian, from any  candidate country," the diplomat said, commenting on Armenia's plans  for European integration.

He also expressed hope that Yerevan understands that even meeting all  of Brussels' demands does not guarantee EU membership. Maslennikov  cited the Western Balkans as an example, "which have been 'in line  for EU membership' for decades (Albania since 2000, North Macedonia  since 2004, Montenegro since 2008, and Serbia since 2009), fulfilling  the strict demands of European bureaucrats, often extremely unpopular  with the population, but still getting no closer to fulfilling their  'Euro-dream.'" "It's also worth remembering that, in reality, EU  membership, especially given its current state, by no means  guarantees prosperity for candidate countries." "The economic  indicators and demographic situation in the Baltic states, which  recently celebrated 20 years of membership in the European Union,  are, to put it mildly, unimpressive," he emphasized.

At the same time, he acknowledged that Armenia's forced rapprochement  with the European Union would have negative consequences both for its  alliance with Russia and for the development of integration processes  throughout the post-Soviet space.

Commenting on Yerevan's intention to join the European Union, he  noted that, given the EU's rapid transformation into an aggressive  military-political bloc and its strategic course aimed at  confrontation with Russia, "Armenia's interest in membership in this  organization cannot but raise concern."

"We hope that Armenia, as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union  (EAEU), understands the potential negative consequences of a forced  rapprochement with Brussels, both for our allied relations and for  the development of integration processes in the post-Soviet space,"  Maslennikov emphasized.

At the same time, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's  Department of European Affairs reiterated that Russia respects the  sovereign right of other states to participate in integration  associations, and especially "their desire to gain additional  opportunities for economic development and improve the well- being of  their own populations." However, the Armenian leadership "has clearly  signaled its interest in maximizing rapprochement with the European  Union." "In line with these efforts, in April 2025, the country's  President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the law 'On the commencement of  the process of accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European  Union,' previously approved by parliament," he recalled.

Thus, according to Maslennikov, Brussels has already begun "actively  pushing Yerevan to adopt a politically motivated transition to EU  standards, which fundamentally disregards the membership of this  Transcaucasian republic in the EAEU and the obligations associated  with it."

"The fact remains that simultaneous membership in both the EAEU and  the EU is by definition impossible," the diplomat stated.