YEREVAN. – What was announced in Moscow about the decision for Armenia’s joining the Customs Union is crucial and as much a decision laden with huge responsibility for Armenia’s future.    

The opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party’s Armenia Supreme Body released a statement with such content. 

“One could have assumed that Armenia was to join the Customs Union, which is launched by it strategic partner [i.e., Russia] and be engaged in the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.   

“But the problem is that, before that, the authorities of the Republic of Armenia had not provided necessary information to the public and the political forces. Furthermore, they held negotiations for years on end toward joining the free trade area of the European Union and reached the threshold of initialing the EU Association Agreement.   

“We can assume that the primary reason for the Armenian president’s surprise decision in Moscow was the security issues of Armenia and NKR [i.e., the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic].

“The president’s surprise decision has raised numerous questions among the public. In our case, any economic integration must give clear guarantees for maintaining and consolidating the security and developing the economy of the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

“[But] Armenia’s decision to join the Customs Union shall not become an obstacle before the continuation of Armenia’s activities in the European direction.    

“We demand from Armenia’s authorities to inform the public when making such crucial decisions for the country and to make the political forces become a participant in the decision,” ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party’s Armenia Supreme Body’s statement reads, in particular.