The Armenian government approved on Thursday a bill on the “start of a process of Armenia's accession to the European Union” drafted by several pro-Western political and civic groups. Moscow was quick to deplore the move, with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk calling it “the beginning of Armenia's withdrawal from the EEU.” He warned that the South Caucasus nation risks losing its tariff-free access to Russia’s vast market and having to pay much more for Russian natural gas and foodstuffs.
“The issue of leaving the EEU is not on the Armenian government’s agenda at the moment,” Papoyan told a news conference.
“Under no circumstances do we intend to replace the EEU with anything else,” he said. “We want to be independent, and independence is when you depend on everyone, not just one [entity,] and everyone depends on you to some extent.”
Overchuk stressed in this regard that Armenia’s possible accession to the EU is “incompatible” with its continued membership in the Russian-led trade currently comprising five ex-Soviet states.
Another Armenian government member, Finance Minister Vahe Hovannisian, did not rule out an eventual exit from the bloc while saying that he does not know when it might happen. Hovannisian admitted that this would be a “risky” scenario for his country.
According to Armenian government data, Russia accounted for over 41 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade in January-November 2024, compared with the EU’s 7.5 percent share in the total. In absolute terms, Armenia’s trade with EU member states shrunk by 14 percent, to $2.1 billion.
Russian-Armenian trade has skyrocketed since 2022, with Armenian entrepreneurs taking advantage of Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia is also Armenia’s principal supplier of natural gas and nuclear fuel.
Armenia pays the Gazprom giant $165 per thousand cubic meters of Russian gas used by not only power plants and households but also the vast majority of car owners in the country. Wholesale gas prices in the EU are currently three times higher than that.