Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of three other Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states effectively set that deadline in a joint statement issued during a May 29 summit in Kazakhstan boycotted by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. They instructed their prime ministers to present “possible consequences” of suspending Armenia’s membership in the EEU at their next summit planned for December.
“It is clear that if the call for a referendum is not heeded by that time, the leaders will take this fact into account when determining appropriate further joint steps,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told the TASS news agency.
Galuzin said Armenians should specifically be asked whether they want their country to leave the EEU for “the prospect — not entirely obvious — of joining the EU in the future.”
Putin insisted that the referendum should be held “as soon as possible” when he spoke with Pashinian by phone late last month. Pashinian again rejected the demand during a meeting of EEU prime ministers in Kyrgyzstan last week.
Pashinian downplayed the fact that his government enacted last year a law declaring the start of a “process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union.” He said it does not mean that his country “has a chance to become an EU member today.” Yerevan must first formally apply for EU membership and then receive a candidate status from the 27-nation bloc, argued the Armenian premier. Galuzin dismissed Pashinian’s “confusing statements” on the subject made in recent months.
For their part, Armenian opposition leaders have described Pashinian’s European integration drive 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.
“What was the point of passing the declarative law which proclaimed that we are starting the EU membership process?” Anna Grigorian, the parliamentary leader of the opposition Hayastan alliance, said on Monday.
Pashinian implied earlier that his country cannot be kicked out of the EEU without its consent. His critics countered that even if he vetoes its exit from the bloc, Russia will still be in a position to impose crippling economic sanctions on Armenia, which is heavily dependent on it for trade and energy.
Moscow already banned in late May and early June imports of Armenian agricultural products and mineral water. Russian officials have threatened to take other punitive measures such as a sharp rise in the price of Russian natural gas supplied to Armenia, curbs on Russian tourists visiting the country and tougher requirements for hundreds of thousands of Armenian migrant workers in Russia.
