Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements on choosing between the EAEU and the EU. “We had that discussion with the Russian President at the working level, and I said what I also said publicly: until there is no need to make a de jure and de facto choice, we will not put such an issue on the agenda.”
The Prime Minister stressed that he disagreed with Putin’s “absurd” formulation. “I also had the opportunity to say in the National Assembly that we sometimes confuse interstate relations with marriage. Armenia follows an interstate logic in its relations with other states, and we are a member of the EAEU, like all other members. And as long as we are a member of the EAEU, we fully participate in decision-making. And unless the need arises, we will not put this issue on the table. We will hold a referendum when there is an objective need. But I assess that there is simply no objective need for it,” he said.
According to Nikol Pashinyan, there was no, there is no, and there will be no goal to harm the interests of the Russian Federation. “We will continue to be guided by the state interests of the Republic of Armenia, we will continue to deepen our relations, develop them with the Russian Federation, with the understanding that an inevitable transformation is taking place in these relations.”
Pashinyan emphasized that transformations occur in these relations, which are objective and not related to his personality. “There are questions, there are discomforts, there are nuances that need to be clarified. But I assess that these issues should be worked on calmly, quietly, without nerves and without additional aggravation.”
According to him, they have working relations with the Russian President based on mutual trust. “We have discussed the most acute issues in a very calm, respectful, friendly atmosphere and environment, based on facts and arguments.”
