Moscow views Yerevan’s discussion of the EU membership process as the beginning of exit from the EAEU

Russia considers the discussion of Armenia’s accession to the European Union as the beginning of exit from the Eurasian Economic Union, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said, speaking about the bill approved by the RA government today.

Russia will build its economic policy with Armenia taking this circumstance into account, Overchuk said.

At the same time, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, it is Armenia’s sovereign election, which the country has the right to.

According to Overchuk, Armenia’s entry into the European Union is incompatible with the country’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.

The EU and EAEU assume the absence of customs borders and the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, therefore it is impossible to imagine that these two unions can have a common point, Overchuk said, according to the TASS agency.

“In this way, ordinary people will lose income, work and start paying more for the most necessary things. Instead, they will most likely get the opportunity to travel without a visa, and Armenia will lose its population,” predicted the Russian Deputy Prime Minister.

Today, the Armenian government approved the draft law on the initiation of the process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union. Its authors are the members of the pro-Western Eurovote. In order to introduce the bill to the National Assembly, they collected 60,000 signatures, more than the 50,000 required by law, until November of last year.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the adoption of the bill does not mean membership of the European Union, and a referendum is necessary on that issue.