“A fatal finale”- EU accession threatens Armenia with serious consequences: Federation Council

Armenia will feel the economic and political costs of severing ties with Russia and the EAEU if it joins the European Union, Sergey Perminov, Senator, told RIA Novosti.

“For Armenia, the path to the EU is a decades-long marathon with a hazy finale. However, Yerevan will feel the economic and political costs of the break with Russia and the EAEU here and now. Trying to ‘sit on two chairs’ always ends in a fatal finale,” said Perminov.

The senator noted that Pashinyan’s statement on submitting an application for EU membership “marks an official, and probably irreversible, civilizational pivot by Yerevan toward the West.” In addition, the politician noted, this will inevitably lead to a deep crisis in relations with Moscow.

“In the political sphere, this step will be perceived by Russia as Armenia’s final withdrawal from allied relations and obligations. On a practical level, it jeopardizes bilateral cooperation in the security sphere, the operation of Russian military facilities in the region, and will prompt Moscow to review its previous preferences for Yerevan,” the parliamentarian added.

According to Perminov, for Armenia’s membership in the EAEU, this decision creates a critical and legally insurmountable contradiction, since deep economic integration with the EU is fundamentally incompatible with the rules and customs obligations of the Customs Union. “Most likely, Yerevan will be forced to initiate the procedure for withdrawing from the EAEU, or will face harsh protective measures and trade restrictions from the other members of the bloc. For the Armenian economy, which is critically dependent on the Russian market, energy resources, and remittances, this transitional period will become a serious shock test, the outcome of which is obvious given Brussels’ real unpreparedness to compensate Yerevan for the colossal financial costs,” the senator stated.