YEREVAN. – The Russian foreign minister’s statement is an open-text statement addressed to the Armenian side, since Armenia continues to be “shared” between Russia and Europe. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan faces a choice: to sign or not to sign the Framework Agreement with the European Union (EU). I think that he probably will not sign it. 

Konstantin Kalachev, head of the Political Expert Group think tank in Moscow, told the aforesaid to 168 Zham (Hour) newspaper of Armenia, as he commented on the addressee of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statement that there are those that wish to turn the [EU] Eastern Partnership into an anti-Russian project, and that this program was used in order to make the target countries face a fake choice. 

According to him, Russia shows that it respects Armenia as a partner, and considers that Armenia has the right to implement its domestic and foreign policy independently.

“Armenia could sign the agreement (…); relations with Russia will not be severed [by this],” Kalachev added. “But what kind these relations would be is important here.”