Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today, commenting on his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted, “At least on several issues, we have reached a common understanding.” “The Republic of Armenia has the legitimate right to form alternatives for itself. I told the President of Russia that we have announced this path and we will follow it, especially now that the people of Armenia have also voted in favor of it. I cannot imagine that as a result of our policy, we would find ourselves in a situation where Armenia has no alternatives. The Republic of Armenia must always have alternatives,” Pashinyan said during a press conference with reporters.
When asked, “Can we say that, in fact, your dialogue with the President of the Russian Federation did not take place because there was no talk of an agreement,” Pashinyan replied, “The dialogue took place because we talked for a long time.” On July 27, at the initiative of the Armenian side, in a phone conversation with Putin, Pashinyan emphasized that the restrictions on the export of Armenian-origin goods to the Russian market contradict the legal framework of Armenia-Russia and the regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union, and requested measures to address these issues.
Commenting on the issue of export restrictions from Russia, Pashinyan emphasized, “This is a problem of the EAEU.” “It turns out that the EAEU is paralyzed and not functioning. If this issue is not resolved quickly, let me predict that this will be the beginning of the end of the EAEU,” the Prime Minister said.
As for whether the Armenian government might decide to leave the EAEU sooner, Pashinyan responded, “No, we do not have such plans.” “You know that on May 29 in Astana, the leaders of four EAEU member countries adopted a joint statement supporting the situation regarding holding a referendum in Armenia on joining the EU, which is not bad. I also told the President of Russia that this referendum cannot take place without the presence of its subject. To hold this referendum, we must at least have applied on the issue of joining the European Union,” he emphasized.
In his conversation with Pashinyan, the President of Russia reiterated that Yerevan must hold a referendum to determine whether it is going the Eurasian or European route.
