EU and EAEU are incompatible, says Russian Deputy PM

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the European Union (EU) are incompatible, the arrival of non-regional players in Armenia will have consequences, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk announced on Tuesday.

“Speaking about Armenia, it will definitely be wrong to close our eyes to the fact that today, as they say, the political trajectory of this country is leaning more and more towards the West. We should also realize that the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union are incompatible. The benefits that some countries get from proximity to Russia should also be understood as the price we pay for our security and strategic depth, so the arrival of some non-regional players there will certainly have consequences,” he said.

Overchuk noted that Russia is interested in a stable Armenia, in good trade relations, and “in good brotherly relations.”

“When there are real threats, as now, when the natural disaster actually destroyed the only railroad route that connected Armenia with the rest of the world via Georgia…we, by the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin, promptly came to the rescue and restored the traffic in record time,” he noted.