YEREVAN. – Zhamanak daily has learned that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) office may be closed, or its programs may reduce, in the Republic of Armenia (RA), the daily reported.

“To our question as to why the US has decided to close down this office, or reduce [its] funding, [opposition] Heritage [Party] NA [i.e. National Assembly] Faction former MP [and political analyst] Stepan Safaryan responded: ‘Ultimately, the extent to which the EEU [i.e. the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union] will intrude into the life of the RA is a problem (…). In this case, the US may implement projects in some domains, and suddenly find out that the EEU has intruded into them, too.’ 

“Safaryan considers it likely that the US reduction of the USAID programs [in Armenia] is the move [against] our country’s accession to the EEU,” Zhamanak wrote.