Armenia's association agreement with the European Union may turn out to be a problem unless it considers the country's relations with Russia, Rector of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Anatoly Torkunov said during a conference on Armenia's geo-political role in modern international relations in Yerevan on Saturday.
"Armenia's efforts to diversify its political and economic contacts with Europe are certainly welcome, but those efforts should become a subject of an open foreign political debate, where Russia's participation would be quite appropriate," Torkunov said.
He said that trade is not the only field where Russia and Armenia could cooperate. "There are opportunities for Armenia's involvement in a Russia-oriented integration format – something that implies a new economic mentality, a new type of relations with neighbors, a part in multilateral economic negotiations with the Customs Union member-states," Torkunov said.