YEREVAN. - Year 2017 will make Armenia think whether it would not be better to withdraw from the Eurasian Union and join the West instead.

Economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan told the aforementioned to reporters Saturday.

The work of the new Government cannot be a success without this, he added.

According to the expert, the latest economic indexes inspire little optimism: it is enough to note that over 10 months of 2016 the state budget of Armenia fell short of 80 billion AMD revenues.

“Russia doesn’t allow our economy to develop in the conditions of free competition, whereas Europe does give this opportunity. Joining the European economic area will attract large investments.  Moreover, they would have been in place but for Armenia’s decision to join the Eurasian Union in 2016, which put aside the association with the EU,” Yeghiazaryan noted.