Russia MFA: Introduction of visa-free regime with EU will negatively affect Armenia’s security

The introduction of a visa-free regime between Armenia and the European Union will lead to the outflow of promising young people from the republic and will negatively affect its security and economy, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS, commenting on the report “Deepening EU-Armenia relations: More Europe in Armenia; More Armenia in Europe” prepared by the Friends of Armenia network led by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“The authors try to promise the introduction of a visa-free regime with the EU, which will lead to a significant outflow of the young and economically active population to Europe and negatively affect Armenia’s economy and security. This can be seen in the examples of Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and, actually, the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, etc. that have already joined the EU, whose population is massively moving to more prosperous countries for low-paying jobs,” the Russian Foreign Ministry noted․

The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the European Union and NATO do not care about the real needs of Armenia’s citizens.

“This is clearly seen in the conclusion, which states that the republic’s pivot to the West is a ‘low-cost’ opportunity to transform the Transcaucasus for its needs. Armenia in these formations is assigned the role of an executor of orders from Brussels and Washington,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.16:41