The South Caucasus country is considering talks with Brussels on joining the bloc.
Armenia could soon be on the path to joining the European Union, the country’s prime minister claimed Thursday against a backdrop of growing tensions with the Kremlin, which was once one of its top allies.
At a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Yerevan, Nikol Pashinyan said the government would back a new bill introduced in parliament that would effectively launch the South Caucasus nation’s bid to become a member of the 27-country bloc.
Pashinyan said the bill would only begin the process of diplomatic negotiations. “Adopting the law doesn’t literally mean Armenia is joining the EU, because that cannot be done through a law or government decision — the decision on that can only be made through a referendum,” he said.
The day prior, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced that the country could sign a “comprehensive” new partnership agenda with Brussels “in the coming months,” which could include visa liberalization.
Armenia has historically maintained close ties with Russia, but froze its membership of Moscow’s CSTO military alliance last year after accusing it of failing to support the country in an conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. Yerevan has also dispatched humanitarian aid to Ukraine and confirmed that it would work to comply with EU sanctions on the Russian economy.
While officials have previously hinted that the tiny democratic nation could seek to join the bloc, those ambitions face a tough challenge as Armenia remains heavily economically dependent on Moscow and even hosts a Russian military base.
Shortly after Pashinyan’s announcement, Russia reacted with displeasure to his EU aspirations.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Armenia, which is also a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, couldn’t be part of both the Moscow-led cooperation and the EU.
He added that “of course it’s Armenia’s sovereign right” to pursue EU membership, but with a nod of skepticism he pointed to Turkey’s decadeslong unsuccessful bid to join.
Csongor Körömi contributed to this report.
