Moscow considers the Western approach in the South Caucasus absolutely destructive, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with Izvestia newspaper, SİA nforms.
The Russian deputy foreign minister believes that Western policy in the South Caucasus is aimed not at stabilizing the situation in the region but at creating additional threats for Moscow.
In his opinion, Western circles are trying to use this region to inflict strategic defeat on Russia, and in some cases even attempt to convince certain countries to open a second front against it.
"Regarding the strengthening of ties between Armenia on one side and the European Union and the West in general on the other, our position is as follows. Yerevan, the Armenian state, Armenian society, and the Armenian people make sovereign decisions about how to build their foreign policy and position their country in the international community. This is their prerogative, and as you well know, we never interfere in the internal affairs of other states and never impose our recipes and vision on other states, but try through dialogue to develop mutually acceptable modalities and compromise approaches to solving various issues," noted Galuzin.
The diplomat commented on Yerevan's rapprochement with the EU in the context of Russia-Armenia relations.
"We have clearly indicated, both publicly and in dialogue with our Armenian friends, that simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union is impossible because these are two incompatible regulatory systems with different approaches to customs standards, technical, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, product labeling and certification, and even intellectual property issues. These are absolutely different systems, and simultaneous presence in both is simply impossible. Regarding the mentioned issue of starting negotiations between Armenia and the European Union on various projects for rapprochement, including visa-free regime, yes, such negotiations have begun. We see that the European Union stays true to itself here because, without giving any particular promises or making any serious decisions regarding visa-free relations, it already demands political loyalty from Armenia and joining anti-Russian sanctions. And all this happens against the background of Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union bringing it tangible and significant long-term benefits in terms of trade growth with the EAEU and investments from the EAEU space into Armenia," said the deputy foreign minister.
He added that Yerevan's change in political and economic vector will affect the country's GDP.
"The trade volume between Armenia and its EAEU partners is about $13 billion and increased by 53% last year, while trade with the European Union barely exceeded $2 billion in the same year and decreased by 24%. So even these Armenian statistics figures show where the sources of Armenia's current economic well-being and its people lie, and a sharp paradigm shift and transition to the EU platform will, in our view, inevitably be associated with GDP decline and serious blows to Armenian business, economy, and the living standards of ordinary Armenian citizens. Armenian politicians sometimes talk about pro-EU sentiments in Armenian society. Perhaps such sentiments exist, but we believe that equal attention should be paid to the sentiments of those Armenian citizens who envision their country's future in the Eurasian family and within Eurasian integration," Mikhail Galuzin added.
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