Pashinyan: EAEU member states have no right to expel Armenia from bloc

Member states of the Eurasian Economic Union have no right to expel any other member state from the organization, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said when asked to comment on the report by representatives of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan at the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on the possible consequences of suspending the application of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union with respect to Armenia.

“It is obvious that member states have no right to expel a member state from the organization. Such a possibility exists in the CSTO, given that the member states overlap. It is interesting why Armenia is not being expelled from the CSTO. As for the EAEU, this is the first time in our history that the metropolis is not pulling us toward itself but is indirectly telling us, ‘We will expel you from us,’” the Prime Minister said.

Nikol Pashinyan added that the restrictions imposed on Armenia by Russia in the preceding period had not produced the economic and political consequences sought by circles both in Armenia and abroad.

“This will be the third attempt to change the government in Armenia. The first was the events of 2023, when, in Karabakh, in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, the aim was to direct the flow of people toward Armenia, while calls were simultaneously being made to change the political authorities. The next was the regular parliamentary elections in June 2026. Now a third attempt is being prepared. There is no economic component here; we are dealing with a political component. The goal is to provoke domestic political instability in Armenia and, de facto, and subsequently de jure, deprive Armenia of its independence. The Armenian state is sufficiently resilient and will overcome this situation as well,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian Prime Minister also addressed the economic consequences presented in the report.

“As for those data and forecasts, we will live and see. Our main focus is Armenia’s continued development, protecting our independence and sovereignty, and diversifying our relations. We will continue along that path,” Pashinyan said.

The prime ministers of Russia and three other Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states have effectively recommended suspending the application of the bloc’s treaty to Armenia, citing Yerevan’s efforts to join the European Union. In a joint report to EAEU leaders on the “possible consequences” of suspending the treaty’s application to Armenia, released on October 20, they said the proposed suspension could remain in place until an Armenian referendum on EU membership. The report, posted on the Russian government’s website, says that Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan “have the right to consider” suspending the EAEU Treaty’s application to Armenia because of a 2025 Armenian law declaring the start of a process of accession to the EU. The report also claimed that the suspension would have severe economic consequences for Armenia.

The Armenian government, meanwhile, has said that it has no intention of leaving the bloc and that its current EU integration efforts in no way undermine its membership in the EAEU.