Armenia can become EU member only as part of Turkey, says political scientist

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Dmitry Rodionov commented on the news that Armenia seeks to become the EU member.

According to the expert, Armenia will never have a chance to become the EU member.

“Speaking about Armenia’s relations with the European Union and the European Parliament resolution, well, this, of course, is quite funny. Even if it happens that Armenia someday receives the status of a candidate for the European Union, we know that Turkey has been living with this status for several decades. Talks about Turkey’s accession began in 2005, and naturally, there is no chance that Turkey will ever become a member of the European Union. Just like Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine do not have this chance, Armenia will surely never have this chance either.

So, the European Parliament’s statements only cause a smile. I believe those who know the history of the expansion of the European Union can only laugh at this. All this, however, must be understood solely in light of the change in the foreign policy of Armenia from Russia to the West,” Rodionov said.

According to the expert, Armenia’s withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will lead to a complete severance of relations with Russia and will become an actual invitation to Azerbaijan to start a new conflict.

“Of course, this will be quite painful for Russia, because Armenia’s withdrawal from the CSTO and the withdrawal of the Russian military base actually mean Russia’s withdrawal from the Caucasus. But it will be much more painful for Armenia, because quitting the CSTO and withdrawing the Russian military is actually an invitation to Baku to start a new conflict, at least for these enclave villages, which Baku already demanded from Yerevan in the form of an ultimatum. The loss of these enclaves is the loss of the road to Georgia and, accordingly, to Russia too.

That is, besides military and political cooperation, economic cooperation will also be terminated. However, this is the softest scenario, and the hardest scenario is the loss of the Syunik region. Baku has repeatedly said that they can punch this corridor by force. The most extreme, worst-case scenario for Armenia is the loss of statehood altogether and the division of its territory between Turkey and Azerbaijan. In this case, Armenia really has a chance to get into the European Union without queueing and as part of Turkey,” Rodionov concluded.