YEREVAN. – Armenia should not put off the matter of Customs Union (CU) accession, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters on Thursday.  

According to him, Armenia’s CU accession needs to be completed this year so that the country may become a part of the Eurasian Union by January 2015.

“For this reason, we need to carry out the activities to join the [Russian-led] CU in a short space of time; [but] of course, not at the expense of quality. 

“The reason is that, as of January 2015, the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space will become a composite part of the Eurasian Union. And our objective is to become a member in this union.

“[Armenian President] Serzh Sargsyan had announced such intention by the state on September 3, 2013, in Moscow,” Kocharyan said.

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. And the road map for Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union was recently introduced. Aside from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan likewise are members in the Customs Union.