YEREVAN. – The process, which is developed with Armenia’s Customs Union (CU) accession road map, will be ready in mid-April, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan stated at a press conference on Saturday.

In Kocharyan’s words, once the text of the respective agreement is prepared and it is concurred with the CU member countries, it will be submitted for approval by the Armenian National Assembly. 

For her part, Deputy Minister of Economy Karine Minasyan informed that the last meeting of the CU working group, which deals with the processes around the road map for cooperation with Armenia, was convened on Wednesday. The next meeting is slated for March 28, when all the activities will be primarily summed up.

“[But] until then, Armenia’s joining the CU will be discussed on March 4 in [Kazakhstan capital city] Astana. Subsequently, on March 11, the presidents of the CU member countries and Armenia will meet in Moscow,” Minasyan noted.

She added that the activities toward the preparation of the agreement will get underway thereafter.     

Minasyan also informed that a negotiation process will start soon, with the CU member countries, and with respect to not increasing the current customs duties on the sensitive products which Armenia imports from third countries.

Following the talks that were held on September 3, 2013 in Moscow between Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin, Sargsyan had announced that Armenia plans to join the Customs Union and subsequently engage in the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. In December 2013, the “road map” for Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union was adopted. And in January of this year, the Government of Armenia approved the action plan for the implementation of this “road map.” Aside from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan likewise are members in the Customs Union.