Pashinyan’s statements on referendum are contradictory: Russian Foreign Ministry points to confusion in Yerevan’s position

Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, criticized statements made by Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, regarding a referendum on the question of the country joining the EU or retaining membership in the EAEU, calling them contradictory.

“Article 205 of the Armenian Constitution stipulates that such a referendum must be initiated by the government itself. However, in 2025, while discussing the law ‘On Launching the Process of Accession to the European Union,’ the Armenian side argued that its adoption did not require a referendum, since it was merely a political declaration. Now we are hearing that the results of the June elections supposedly demonstrate support for a pro-European course on their own, and that a referendum is again unnecessary,” the diplomat noted in an interview with TASS.

According to him, during the election campaign Pashinyan made “diametrically opposed and confused statements,” while at the same time acknowledging that “no one has yet invited Armenia to join the EU, and that it may never become a member at all.”

“A great deal has indeed already been said, yet this adds no clarity whatsoever,” Galuzin added.

He stressed that this is precisely why the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan stated the need to find out the opinion of Armenian citizens.

“And not in abstract theoretical terms (do you want to join the EU?), but in concrete practical terms: are you prepared to give up membership in the EAEU for the sake of a prospect, not entirely certain, of joining the EU in the future? Because it is precisely this formulation of the question that would be the most honest one toward the citizens of the Republic of Armenia themselves. And toward the other EAEU members as well,” he said.

Yerevan has recently declared a course toward integration with the EU. On March 26, 2025, the Armenian parliament passed a law on launching the process of joining the European Union. At the same time, Pashinyan has claimed that Armenia does not intend to leave the EAEU and hopes to combine membership in the organization with integration into the EU for as long as this remains possible. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has previously noted that joining the EU would automatically mean ending cooperation with the EAEU and losing all associated preferences. At the EAEU summit in Astana on May 29, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan adopted a joint statement on the need to hold a nationwide referendum in Armenia on the choice between the EU and the EAEU.