ST. PETERSBURG, June 4. /TASS/. Russia does not intend to pay for the consequences of Armenia’s steps toward European integration, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in response to a TASS question on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"The question of where Armenia is heading and with whom it will build its political and state future is a legitimate one. Of course, we do not intend to use the undeniable bonuses and preferences Armenia receives from membership in the Eurasian Economic Union to finance Armenia’s movement toward the European Union," the deputy minister said.
Commenting on restrictions on supplies of Armenian agricultural products to Russia, he noted that "this is a decision by the relevant authorities, driven by the need to comply with established phytosanitary import regulations for certain types of products entering Russia."
"Whether these lost volumes need to be replaced, and how they should be replaced, is a matter for the relevant Russian government agencies," the diplomat added.
"Overall, we see that, on the one hand, Armenia declares its commitment to cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union, while at the same time taking legislative steps toward launching the process of accession to the European Union, which differs absolutely in every respect from the EAEU, and membership in which is incompatible with participation in the Eurasian Economic Union," Galuzin said.
