Armenia in the EU? Impossible. Putin does not “let”

Words from the President of Russia in front of the Prime Minister of Armenia: if you are on one side, you are not on the other.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, stated this Wednesday that the Armenia’s membership of the European Union (EU) is “simply impossible” due to the former Soviet republic’s membership in the economic union dominated by Moscow.

“Membership in customs unions of both the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union (UEE, led by Russia) is impossible. It’s simply impossible by definition”, Putin emphasized during a meeting in the Kremlin with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“We see that Armenia is talking about developing relations with the European Union and we take this calmly. We understand that each country seeks to obtain maximum benefit from its cooperation with third countries, but this must be clear, honest e awake from the beginning,” he added.

Armenia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus with a population of approximately 2.7 million, joined the EEU, an alliance dominated by Russia, in 2015.

Since two years ago, Yerevan has been increasingly revealed challenging in relation to Moscow, a historic ally that has long supplied it with weapons and still maintains a military base on Armenian territory.

In the spring of 2025, the Armenian Parliament approved a law with the aim of starting negotiations for accession to the EU, Russia’s rival power in the Caucasus.

Before Putin, Pashinyan stated that Yerevan understands that belonging to both blocs, “in principle”, is incompatible.

“But what we are doing and the agenda we have, at least for now, are compatible. That is a fact. And as long as there is an opportunity to reconcile these agendas, we will do so,” he said.

In any case, the relations with Russia “have never been and will never be in doubt”, Prometheus.

Yerevan accuses the Kremlin of not providing sufficient support in its disputes with Azerbaijan, particularly during the armed conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and 2023.

Vladimir Putin also stated that he hoped that the “pro-Russian” political movements” could participate in elections parliamentarians scheduled for June in Armenia.

“There are many pro-Russian political forces (in Armenia). To be frank, we would very much like all these parties and politicians to be able to participate in electoral political activities,” Putin said.

The issue of relations with Russia is a central theme in the Armenian election campaign.

The country’s opposition accuses the government of strengthening ties with the West to the detriment of Yerevan’s relations with Moscow and demands the release of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who the Armenian authorities accuse of inciting a coup d’état.

In this context, Putin expressed his hope that internal political processes in Armenia will not harm its relations with Russia.

“The main thing is that these internal political processes, which always intensify during any electoral campaign, (…) do not harm our relations with Armenia in any way,” he declared.

He also highlighted that Armenia receives Russian gas at a much lower price than consumers in Europe.