Now is not the best time to integrate into Europe — Fyodor Lukyanov

Speaking with Alpha News, Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Russia in Global Politics” and chair of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, touched upon Armenia’s European integration prospects and noted that Russia would not tolerate overt attempts to align with those it currently considers its enemies.

“It seems to me that there was no expansion policy in the post-Soviet space. There were talks, but no one was ever promised anything. Ukraine was reluctantly granted EU candidate status during the war because they had to somehow demonstrate their commitment. Europe has been trading on its image and reputation for a long time, and it did so successfully because the image of Europe was extremely appealing.

If we talk about the South Caucasus, none of its countries can join the European Union simply for geographical reasons. The Armenian leadership has announced a course for European integration. To be honest, this surprises me a little, because now is not the time, so to speak, to integrate into Europe, looking at what is happening. But, apparently, it is very important for official Yerevan to have some kind of reference point.

However, it seems to me that Europe cannot be a reference point now—not even an abstract one. There is a completely different international environment now. I believe all serious politicians have realized that there is no point in pursuing those superficial gestures anymore. That is, you will not get any advantages from this, but there may be negative aspects. Because it is clear that Russia will not tolerate blatant alignments with those who are currently its enemies,” Lukyanov said.