Armenia has assumed a commitment to join the Customs Union, but this is a long-term process.

Thomas de Waal, a senior associate at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment, specializing primarily in the South Caucasus region, told the aforesaid to the RFE/RL Armenian service.   

De Waal believes that Armenia, specifically President Serzh Sargsyan, wanted to cooperate with both Europe and Russia, but for political reasons and under pressure from Russia, he was obligated to choose Russia.  

The analyst is of the view that Armenia’s decision to join the Russian-led Customs Union will have some consequences in terms of domestic politics.   

“I believe that the Armenian society does not possess a pro-Russian attitude as much as the political elite. The [Armenian] people want to see Russia as a guarantor of [their] security. The [Armenian] public is in favor of having ties with Russia, but we have seen in the last ten years that the Armenian society has grown and it does not want this colony-like relation—which the Customs Union gives—with Russia.     

“At the same time, the [Armenian] political elite is very pro-Russian. And I believe that one of Serzh Sargsyan’s objectives for making this decision [of Customs Union accession] was to get rid of the pro-Russian pressures at the domestic political front,” Thomas de Waal concluded.