Reasonable concerns that Armenia is not informing EAEU members: report

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are not interested in Armenia leaving the EAEU, says a report by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, prepared by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, on the possible consequences of suspending the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union with respect to Armenia.

The report notes that the risks of Yerevan’s decision to join the EU raise the question of Armenia’s status within the EAEU.

“At the same time, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation, while respecting the right of the people of the Republic of Armenia to decide independently on participation or non-participation in various unions and integration associations, are not interested in the Republic of Armenia’s withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union,” the report says.

The report also notes that Yerevan’s plans to join the European Union lead to a conflict between different legal regimes.

According to the report, if Armenia’s participation in the EAEU were suspended, the volume of money transfers from Russia to Armenia would fall by more than half, to $1.8 billion a year. It would also bring back the taxation regime that applies to third countries. If Armenia left the EAEU, the cost of gas imports to the country would rise by 69%, to $657.5 million a year.

The suspension of Armenia’s EAEU membership could affect cooperation in the energy sector, according to the report by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, prepared by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, on the possible consequences of suspending the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union with respect to Armenia.

Armenia’s suspension of its participation in the EAEU would not have a significant effect on the economies of the bloc’s member states, the report says.

A key result of such a decision would also be full-scale sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary-sanitary control of products from the Republic of Armenia, as from a third country that is not an EAEU member, the report notes.