In case of exit from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Armenia, which has announced the imminent start of the process of submitting an application for membership in the European Union (EU), may face the fact that the price of such a reorientation will be extremely high, Izvestia writes.

“Membership in the European Union and the start of full-fledged trade relations with it will take years, if not decades. During all this time, the level of export of flowers and agricultural products [from Armenia] will be extremely low. As before, Ukraine will ‘hang on the neck’ of the European Union, which will be provided with assistance first, including in the trade sector, whereas Armenia, despite promises, will be helped on a residual basis.

Amid its own deteriorating economic situation, the EU’s opportunities are not limitless, while even without Yerevan, nine countries have the status of candidate countries for EU membership. For example, Turkey, in turn, has been waiting since 1987.

The political benefits that [Armenian PM Nikol] Pashinyan's pro-Western government will receive, and the personal support that will be provided to the prime minister, will come at the cost of a decline in the living standards of the country's population," Izvestia writes.