Dec 25 2023
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, despite tensions with Russia, pledges to suppress political interference in regional integration as Armenia prepares to chair the Moscow-dominated Eurasian Economic Union in 2024.
By Sathish Raman
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose country's relations with Russia have been strained this year, has pledged to suppress political interference that hinders regional integration when Armenia assumes the rotating chairmanship of a Moscow-led economic alliance.
Armenia to Chair Eurasian Economic Union in 2024
Armenia is set to become the chair country of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in 2024. Established in 2014, the bloc comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Armenia, and promotes the free movement of goods and services.
Pashinyan's Actions Strained Armenia-Russia Ties
In the past year, Pashinyan has strained relations with Russia by denying permission for a Moscow-led security alliance to conduct exercises in Armenia and by declining to attend an alliance summit. Additionally, Armenia's accession to the Treaty of Rome, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), further irked Russia. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of war crimes related to the deportation of children during the conflict with Ukraine.
Pashinyan Attends EEU Supreme Council Meeting
Despite these tensions, Pashinyan attended a meeting of the EEU's Supreme Council in St. Petersburg on Monday. He emphasized that the union and its economic principles should not be intertwined with political ambitions and that Armenia is committed to preventing any attempts to politicize Eurasian integration.
Armenia's Dependence on Russia
Armenia is heavily reliant on Russian trade and hosts a Russian military base. However, relations between the two countries deteriorated in the past year when a Russian peacekeeping force failed to reopen a crucial road connecting Armenia to the ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gained full control of the region in a swift offensive in September.