Yesterday I spoke with the Russian president and thanked him for the call. He had called to congratulate me on my birthday, but we also talked about current affairs, and the conversation was positive. Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is on vacation and heads the ruling Civil Contract party’s electoral list for Sunday’s parliamentary election in Armenia, on Tuesday told this to the correspondent of the Russian newspaper Izvestia during the ruling party’s election campaign in Sevan city.

The Armenian premier noted that in the current context, the best move would be to simply “abandon all kinds of restrictions, etc.” According to him, what concerns phytosanitary norms is a normal thing, which has always been and should be, since it concerns the health of people and the quality of goods being supplied between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries, but currently this issue is being politicized. Pashinyan said that these wrong actions and restrictions being applied by Russia to individual Armenian companies turn people against the EAEU and create a negative perception of the Union among Armenian citizens.

“I am the only official representative who is simultaneously a member of both the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the Intergovernmental Council, and for me this is a problem—but we will solve all these problems. The EAEU must show and open new opportunities so that the positive image of the Union is maintained in the [Armenian] republic,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

Touching upon the topic of the cost of Russian energy resources in Armenia, the PM agreed with the remark that the final price for the country’s residents is exaggerated, since Gazprom Armenia company sets a rather large surcharge. In his assessment, this is precisely why the local population and households do not connect to the grid, and the price of $165 being declared is not objective, since the real price is much higher.

“You know, we [i.e. Armenia] should be a candidate or we should have already officially applied to the European Union for membership. But as long as there is no such thing, there is simply no real reason to hold a referendum [in Armenia],” said the premier, responding to a question about the notion of holding a referendum on Armenia’s European integration. Pashinyan added that until that decision is taken, there will be no referendum in Armenia, but as soon as it happens, then it will be held.

Also, the Armenian premier explained in detail why he will not personally attend the next meeting within the framework of the EAEU, and recalled that there had been a lot of discussions on this issue. Nikol Pashinyan noted that he had specially traveled to Moscow in between work schedules to personally notify his colleagues and Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would not be able to attend the EAEU summit due to the coincidence of dates of the  parliamentary election campaign in Armenia, and had previously agreed to hold the event without his participation.