Armenia will have to choose between the EU and the EAEU — Andrey Klimov

Andrey Klimov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs, commented to Alpha News on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to hold a referendum in Armenia on its relations with the European Union and Russia.

“The Russian president specifically noted that he has no wish to interfere in Armenia’s sovereign affairs. Whether or not to hold a referendum is their problem, not Russia’s. But why did the subject of a referendum come up? Because you cannot play football for two teams at the same time. You have to play for one or the other. The Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union are, broadly speaking, competitors on the world stage. Unions of this kind are created to advance the interests of their own members, their own teams, not those they interact with globally. Things have now reached the point where Armenia’s official leadership no longer conceals its desire to draw even closer to the EU. Whether Armenia will actually be admitted, that, by the way, is a big question. But giving up the many benefits and privileges Armenia receives from participating in our common system for a number of post-Soviet countries is quite another matter. You simply cannot do both at once. If Pashinyan and his team have made up their minds, then fine. But they want to keep enjoying the benefits of the Eurasian Economic Union right up to the last moment and then ‘jump ship’ at the final hour. That cannot go on forever,” Klimov said.

In the senator’s view, many in Russia doubt that Armenians actually want to join the European Union.

“Why a referendum specifically? Because many people in Russia, myself included, have serious doubts that the Armenian people truly want what their current leaders are trying to impose on them. I know many people with Armenian passports, some living in Russia, some in Armenia, some elsewhere, and I do not see any great unanimity or fanatical conviction among them that they would be better off in the European Union,” Klimov concluded.