With just days left before historic elections on Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is walking a tightrope, balancing his pro-West push with efforts to avoid an escalating clash with Russia amid Moscow’s increasing pressure on Armenians ahead of the decisive vote.
As the latest polls showed Pashinyan on course for victory on Sunday, he responded to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) 's call for an Armenian referendum on the country's pro-Western, EU-aligned path, saying on Monday that the moment for such a choice has not yet arrived.
The Armenian prime minister moved to de-escalate tensions with Russia and the EAEU by saying that Yerevan “will continue working in the Eurasian Economic Union until the moment when a choice between the EU and the EAEU becomes unavoidable."
However, he added that Armenia’s future is a sovereign matter and that the “decision must naturally be made by the people of Armenia in a referendum.”
Armenia’s EU membership bid is at the moment “theoretical," Pashinyan pointed out.
