Decision on leaving EAEU should be made by Armenian people, without Pashinyan’s emotional statements: Dmitry Belyakov

Dmitry Belyakov, Director of the Center for the Study of EAEU Integration Prospects (Minsk), commented to Alpha News on the emotional reaction of Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, to the report on the consequences of the republic’s possible withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union, and also assessed the economic benefits of Armenia’s membership in the union.

“The fact is that the EAEU is beneficial for the Armenian state, for the people, and for economic activity. Of course, Pashinyan’s political views may not coincide with the views of all those who support Eurasian integration, which is economically justified. This concerns Armenia’s business community, because Armenia is quite isolated from the main preferential markets, namely the United States, the European Union and China. In addition, membership in the Eurasian Economic Union allows Armenia to obtain a wide range of goods at low cost and to sell Armenian goods across the vast territory of the EAEU,” Belyakov said.

In the expert’s view, Pashinyan’s emotional reaction to the EAEU report reflects his personal political views.

“In my opinion, it makes no sense to equate his personal reaction with that of Armenia’s business community, because Pashinyan’s time in power will end, a new government will come, and it will see the situation differently. Right now, all of this is opportunistically linked to his statements about wanting to join Europe and take part in programs with the EU, which currently has rather tense relations with Russia. Moreover, Pashinyan’s position is largely forced, because European partner countries, first and foremost, of course, France, unfortunately have considerable influence on the political establishment in Armenia and are promoting their own narrative.

Pashinyan’s reaction is indeed quite emotional. How far this reaction will correspond to the documents that the Armenian leadership signs, which will determine Armenia’s future economic partnership in the EAEU, is a completely different matter. Experts, analysts and Armenian society need to proceed from documents and decisions, and not allow themselves to be misled by emotional statements,” Belyakov said.

According to the expert, the EAEU report is intended to give Armenian businesses and citizens the opportunity to independently assess the benefits of the republic’s membership in the union.

“The EAEU report is, first and foremost, a collective report by the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is intended to enable Armenian businesses and, of course, Armenian citizens to study the document independently, see what EAEU membership gives Armenia, and decide for themselves whether they need it or not. Since, in my view, withdrawal from the EAEU should be carried out through a referendum, the citizens of Armenia will themselves bear responsibility for their future and well-being, specifically in economic terms,” Dmitry Belyakov concluded.