Astana (EFE).- Armenia will hold a referendum to decide its future alignment between the Russian led economic bloc or the European Union, following pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday during the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit in Astana, which brought together the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as a representative from Armenia.
At a press conference, Putin warned, “That’s how the crisis in Ukraine began,” predicting a 14% drop in Armenia’s GDP due to rising prices for Russian oil and gas.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was absent, citing the upcoming Jun 7 elections, where he will seek reelection with support from Brussels and Washington.
According to independent press, Moscow is funding the opposition.
Russia seeks allies against Armenia
For days, Russia had insisted on addressing tensions with Armenia during the Astana meeting.
Putin managed to rally the host, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as well as the leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, Sadyr Japarov and Alexander Lukashenko, to his cause.
«We share the view that the Republic of Armenia should hold a referendum on joining the EU or remaining in the Eurasian Economic Union in the near future,» stated the declaration signed by the leaders.
Putin and his colleagues recalled the 2025 law on the “Start of the EU Accession Process” passed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and the joint statement issued by Yerevan and Brussels on May 5 following their first bilateral summit.
They considered these aspirations pose significant risks to the economic security of the Union’s members.
The Kremlin acknowledges that the organization’s statutes do not include an expulsion mechanism. Therefore, Russian authorities are pressuring Armenia to make a decision now that Russia has placed its antagonism toward the EU on the same level as that with NATO.
As of Friday, Putin noted that the EAEU economy has grown much faster than the EU’s in recent years, 11.4% versus 3%, and first proposed the need for a referendum on May 9, when Pashinyan did not attend the military parade in Red Square.
«Whatever the decision, it will not damage our political ties. It is purely about economic issues,” he insisted.
Meanwhile, during the election campaign, Moscow imposed economic sanctions on imports of flowers, vegetables, wine, cognac, and mineral water from the Caucasus country. Moscow also threatened to cut off the country’s hydrocarbon supplies.
The EU and the US support Pashinyan
The problem for Putin is that Pashinyan is not alone. In early May, he hosted the European Political Community summit, and this week, he received United States President Donald Trump’s endorsement for reelection.
The White House has not only snatched the role of mediator in the South Caucasus from the Kremlin but also outmaneuvered the Kremlin with the TRIPP corridor, allowing Washington to control a strategic border with Iran and Turkey, currently supervised by Russian border guards.
Pashinyan made this clear before the summit, saying Armenia needs alternatives to the Kremlin and is abandoning the «one road, one pipeline, one ally» principle in reference to Gazprom and Rosneft. Furthermore, he broke a taboo by openly stating that Armenia is not an ally of Russia in the war with Ukraine.
While the Kremlin claimed that Armenia’s GDP has doubled since joining the EAEU, peace with Azerbaijan and the war in Ukraine have rendered a Moscow-led union unattractive to many countries.
For this reason, Armenia is trying to buy time and diversify its energy sources, as well as its role as a transport hub between Central Asia and Europe, before Moscow turns off the gas and oil taps and uses energy prices to blackmail Yerevan.
Recognizing that joining the EU is a long-term goal, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan reaffirmed his country’s commitment to “mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of the EAEU, with a view to ensuring economic stability” and its intention to continue participating in good faith in the Union’s work, based on mutual respect and partnership among equals. EFE
kk-mos/dgp/mcd
