Moscow had repeatedly, in the clearest, most detailed and, by the way, very patiently warned Yerevan that the path to European integration would inevitably complicate relations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Maria Zakharova, stated this during a press briefing Thursday.

According to her, in the long term, Armenia risks not only not joining the European Union (EU), but also irreversibly undermining relations with its EAEU partners, including Russia.

“The issue of Armenia’s possible membership in the European Union reveals fundamental contradictions, which are conditioned by the direct incompatibility of the regulatory and legal bases of the European Union and the EAEU.

At the same time, Yerevan has not yet considered it necessary to coordinate its Euro-integration aspirations with its EAEU partners, ostentatiously trying to simultaneously make use of the advantages of Eurasian integration and move towards the European Union. Such a tactic by Armenia’s authorities seems openly indecent.

Armenia intends to receive the advantages of membership in the European Union, at the same time, without sacrificing its privileges within the EAEU.

If the European Union had not pursued an absolutely destructive policy focused on undermining integration, economic and cooperation ties in the EAEU territory, it would probably have been possible to think about some possibilities. [But] there is no such possibility here, since the European Union does not hide that for it the EAEU is a target for attacks.

Armenia's dual course has neither political nor economic basis and cannot be implemented in principle. In the event of choosing the vector of accession to the EU, Armenia will inevitably have to give up the privileges of the EAEU. Moreover, after submitting an application for membership in the European Union, Armenia will face deep contradictions within the EAEU; moreover, the main blow will fall on Armenia itself.

Turkey’s experience convincingly shows that the wait for joining the European Union after submitting an application can drag on for decades. Even with long-term preparation, this success is not guaranteed, even taking into account Turkey’s membership in NATO and its full engagement in the Western political sphere.

As for Armenia, in its case, the risks increase manifold due to the direct clash of the legal and economic regimes of the European Union and the EAEU. Turkey itself has not joined and does not join other integration associations that would contradict its membership in the European Union; moreover, it is not accepted there anyway. But here Armenia has obligations towards the EAEU. Therefore, the contradictory nature of this issue is not situational, but systemic,” the Russian MFA spokesperson added.