Eurasian Economic Union membership not an obstacle for EU cooperation, says Speaker

Armenia has no plans to leave the Eurasian Economic Union, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.

He was asked to comment on the process of launching an EU integration. 

On January 9, the Cabinet approved the bill seeking to launch the process of EU integration. The bill, which is set to be discussed in parliament, was initiated by several civic organizations through a petition which garnered enough votes to be considered as a bill.

Simonyan told reporters on Tuesday that the process is the "will of the Armenian people".

“And we shall discuss that will in the parliament, we will vote and make a decision. Then we will see. But I don’t think the Russian side should have such deep concerns about that. I don’t think combining that cooperation can anyhow be a problem. If that’s the problem for them, then in my opinion there is no such problem that the Armenian and Russian sides can’t discuss and find solutions,” he said.

The Speaker emphasized that as a sovereign nation, Armenia will make a decision on its own regarding what is and is not in its interests.

“In terms of the economy the Eurasian Economic Union is a beneficial organization for Armenia, and we have no tendency to leave it. We want to continue,” he said.

Asked about Russia, the Speaker said, “What Russia has been losing in our region in terms of Armenia is due to its own steps, because of Russia having left us by ourselves in the region and having left the region.”

Speaker Simonyan said it is wrong to accuse Armenia because it is trying to ensure its security and existence.