Pashinian lambasted Moscow on October 22 when he reacted to a report by the governments of Russia and three other EEU member states effectively recommending the suspension of Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led economic bloc. He claimed that the report is part of a “secret plan” aimed at “inciting internal political instability” and “stripping Armenia of its independence.”
“Perhaps this is simply an attempt by any means necessary to somehow divert public attention away from pressing, urgent issues while once again shifting the responsibility onto someone else,” Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told a news briefing.
“All this rhetoric -- aggressive, emotional and not true -- doesn’t affect us; rather, it misleads Armenian society, Armenia’s own population,” she said. “Such rhetoric is built on an ignoring of economic realities and implications of pursuing accession to the European Union at the expense of traditional Russian-Armenian ties.”
“Unfortunately, the latest barrage of groundless accusations from Yerevan against Moscow was not followed by any constructive proposals or responsible decisions regarding the core issue that concerns not only the population and business community of Armenia but also those of the other EEU member states: into what is Armenia integrating after all?” added Zakharova.
Pashinian made the accusations in advance of his anticipated crunch talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow has been pressuring Yerevan to quickly choose between seeking to join the European Union and remaining part of the EEU.
Putin as well as the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan called for an Armenian referendum on the issue in May, saying that Yerevan’s pursuit of EU membership runs counter to EEU rules. They also instructed their prime ministers to present a report on “possible consequences” of Armenia’s membership suspension in time for their next summit planned for December.
The resulting report released on October 20 warns of Armenia’s loss of tariff-free access to the Russian market and a sharp rise in the price of Russian natural gas imported by the country. It says that the Armenian economy would shrink by over 15 percent as a result. Pashinian insisted that his country is resilient enough to cope with economic fallout from the sanctions threatened by Moscow.
Russia remained Armenia’s principal export market even after blocking imports of Armenian agricultural products and mineral water earlier this year. It also supplies the bulk of Armenia’s natural gas at a significant discount.