The European Union’s (EU) promised assistance to Armenia is far from reality, Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Affairs of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

In July, the EU’s European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had announced that the EU will provide Armenia with 52 million euros in aid. Also, she had promised that 80 percent of Armenian goods entering the EU market will not be subject to customs duty.

“The assistance measures that EU representatives are currently offering to Armenia are largely declarative,” Maslennikov said.

The EU’s internal market is highly competitive and highly regulated, and Armenian products will not be welcomed there with “open arms,” he added.

In addition, the Russian diplomat reminded that candidate countries have been waiting for EU membership for decades.