Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk has ruled out the adoption of restrictive measures against Armenia at the upcoming Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit.

The Eurasian Economic Forum, which will be attended by the heads of the EAEU member states, will be held Thursday in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

“There is no talk of amending the [EAEU] treaty. A consensus is needed to amend the treaty, and Armenia, as far as we know, is not going to leave the EAEU. There they understand very well both the amount of privileges and the amount of trade with other EAEU member states, which has become possible to such an extent largely thanks to the preferential regimes that operate for Armenia,” the Russian deputy premier said.

According to him, these are zero customs duties, harmonized standards, and harmonized technical regulations. Today, their markets are open, and there is free movement of goods, Overchuk said.

“Therefore, naturally, Armenians understand very well the advantages that membership in the Eurasian Economic Union gives them, and they do not want to leave [the EAEU]. There are political forces in that [Armenian] republic that have declared their goal to be rapprochement with the European Union and join that union. Everyone understands that this is incompatible [with EAEU membership], this is a new situation, and it needs to be assessed,” the Russian deputy PM stated.