Armenia’s rapprochement with EU will affect allied relations with Russia – Russian Foreign Ministry

The accelerated rapprochement of Armenia with the European Union will have negative consequences both for allied relations with Russia and for the development of integration processes across the entire post-Soviet space, Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Affairs, told TASS.

Commenting on Yerevan’s intention to join the European Union, he noted that, given the rapid transformation of the EU into an aggressive military-political bloc and considering its strategic course aimed at confrontation with Russia, “Armenia’s interest in joining this organization cannot but cause concern.”

“We expect that Armenia, as a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union, will recognize the potential negative consequences of accelerated rapprochement with Brussels, both for our allied relations and for the development of integration processes in the post-Soviet space,” Maslennikov said.

At the same time, Maslennikov stressed that the Russian side respects the sovereign right of other states to participate in integration associations, and especially “their desire to gain additional opportunities for economic development and to improve the welfare of their own population.” However, the Armenian leadership “unequivocally signals its interest in maximum rapprochement with the European Union.” “In line with these efforts, in April 2025 the country’s president, Vahagn Khachaturyan, signed the law ‘On Initiating the Process of Accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union,’ previously approved by parliament,” he said.