Giro Manoyan: Nazarbayev's statement was an attempt to please Azerhaijan

 President Nazarbayev's statement that Armenia should be admitted into the Eurasian Economic Union within the border recognized by the UN is beneath any criticism, Giro Manoyan the head of the ARFD's Hay Dat Office in Yerevan said in an interview to ArmInfo.

"Many countries had no clear borders when joining the UN, so, Nazarbayev's statement was obviously an attempt to please Azerbaijan," Manoyan said.
Concerning Nazarbayev's statement that Armenia joined the WTO without Nagorno-Karabakh and this must be a precedent for its accession to the Customs Union, Manoyan said that the WTO does not require opening a customs point between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. "So, you cannot compare it with the Eurasian Economic Union and demand opening a customs point between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Once Armenia joins the Union, it will have to do its best to prevent this. Nobody says that Nagorno-Karabakh should join the Union. As to the requirement to open a customs point between the two Armenian republics, it is aimed at isolating Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia," Manoyan said.

During a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on May 29 Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Armenia could not join the Eurasian Economic Union before July 1 as it had to fulfill certain obligations. In his turn, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that Azerbaijan wanted Armenia to join the Eurasian Economic Union within the borders it had when joining the WTO. "We have received a letter from the Azerbaijani President saying that Armenia joined the WTO with a proviso that the WTO's requirements should cover the territory recognized by the UN. And think this point should be discussed," the Kazakh President said.