Following two European summits hosted by the Armenian government in early May, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Yerevan should make such a choice “as soon as possible.” The leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan backed this stance during an EEU summit in Astana on Friday boycotted by Pashinian. In a joint statement with Putin, they called for an Armenian referendum on the issue.
“Until Armenia officially applies for membership in the European Union or is very close to the status of candidate for EU membership, holding any referendum is illogical,” countered Pashinian.
“Today that choice is theoretical, and putting a theoretical choice on a referendum is not quite sensible, correct and well-founded,” he said.
Armenia, he said, will remain a member of the Russian-led trade bloc “until the moment when choosing between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union is inevitable.” He again refused to set any time frames.
Pashinian’s government enacted last year a law calling for the “start of a process of Armenia's accession to the European Union.” Its domestic critics denounced the move as reckless, saying that the EU will not admit the South Caucasus in the foreseeable future. No EU member state or institution has voiced explicit support for such a prospect so far.
In their statement, Putin and the other EEU leaders implicitly warned of a possible suspension of Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led bloc vital for the Armenian economy. They said their prime ministers will present “possible consequences” of such a development at the next EEU summit in December.
Kazakhstan - Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of other Eurasian Economic Union member states pose for a photo during a summit o in Astana, May 29, 2026.
Pashinian has stressed in recent weeks that Armenia cannot be kicked out of the EEU without its consent. Opposition groups challenging him in the June 7 parliamentary elections say that even if Pashinian vetoes its exit, Russia will still be in a position to impose crippling economic sanctions on Yerevan. Citing sanitary grounds, Moscow has already banned or seriously restricted the import of some Armenian products in the last ten days.
Putin warned of more economic measures against Armenia when he spoke to journalists in Astana. And he again emphasized the fact that the country is heavily dependent on Russia for trade and energy.
“While moving toward the European Union, which is Armenia's absolute sovereign right, Armenia cannot and should not do so at the expense of EEU countries,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said for his part. “It must do so at its own expense.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Russia’s ambassador in Yerevan, Sergei Kopyrkin, has been recalled to Moscow for “consultations in connection with the Armenian leadership’s steps to move closer to the European Union which are detrimental to cooperation within the EEU.”
Despite the recall, Putin phoned Pashinian on Monday to congratulate him on his 51st birthday anniversary. They also discussed the “results” of the EEU summit in the Kazakh capital, according to the Kremlin’s short readout of the call.
Pashinian’s office said, for its part, that the two leaders spoke about “current issues on the bilateral and multilateral agenda.” It said Pashinian thanked Putin for his “balanced positions, friendly tone as well as support on a number of issues that give rise to misunderstandings.”