Russian State Suma ratified the treaty on Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) today, on 10 December.
In the course of the hearings, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Aleksey Likhachev said Armenia's accession to the EEU not only was a civilizational choice, but also a pragmatic step.
According to him, Russia is interested in such development of the situation 'when positive outcomes of the integration process are felt not only by economic operators, but also by broader sections of the population.'
He recalled that the commodity turnover of Armenia and Russia was nearly doubled in 2009-2013, and Russia's export to Armenia is gathering pace.
"Trade, services have reached 700 million dollars, with Russia's investments in the Republic of Armenia accounting for 40%-50% of total foreign investments annually," the deputy minister said. Head of the State Duma Committee for CIS Leonid Slutskiy, in turn, said Armenia joins the EEU within its internationally acknowledged borders.
Parliamentarian Oleg Lebedev recalled that the Armenian Parliament ratified the treaty with 103 votes "for," 7 votes "against" and 1 "abstention."
"Never before has the parliament passed any document so unanimously," he said.
It remains for Belarus and Kazakhdtan to ratify the treaty on Armenia's accession to the EEU. Armenia is expected to become a full member of the Union already in early 2015.