Armenia cannot afford a security vacuum for ten minutes, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with EUobserver.

Speaking about Armenia’s security architecture, Mnatsakanyan said: “Look at the countries who are trying to become Nato members [Georgia and Ukraine]. How long have they been in the queue? Ten years, is it? We can't afford 10 minutes.”

He said that Armenia has been blockaded for 27 years by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Meanwhile, the way the West has cosied up to Azerbaijan's authoritarian regime for its oil and gas also showed that realpolitik governed EU actions more than it cared to admit.

“National interests drive the vision of every government … the EU very much values relations driven by its energy interests,” the minister said.

Speaking about the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenian FM said the bloc  is not something dysfunctional, something bad, but it's an opportunity.

“We're members and we're benefitting from it,” he said.

When asked what Russia might do if Yerevan quit the Eurasian bloc in favour of closer European ties.

"What happened in Armenia [the Velvet Revolution] - was it democratic enough for you? Was it good enough? Or does it have to be anti-Russian for it to qualify as democratic?", he said.