PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia is ready to consider the possibility of granting Azerbaijan observer status within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday, December 24.

Pashinyan made the remarks during a virtual press conference on Friday, maintaining that the matter could be discussed if such an official process is initiated within the EAEU but added that Armenia's stance will depend on the course of negotiations with Azerbaijan.

"I can't express a position now. If we see that this step contributes to the opening of a peaceful era, the prospects for the settlement of the Artsakh conflict, the possibility of compromises, it should be in that general context," the Prime Minister said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier that the development of a dialogue between Azerbaijan and the Eurasian Economic Union – of which Armenia is a member – would "contribute to the intensification of mutual trade". Armenian Foreign Minister spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan maintained, however, that such decisions have to be based on a consensus among member states.