YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. One of the key events of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels is expected to be the signing of the EU-Armenia Framework Agreement, Armenpress reports, New Europe published an article on this topic.

Author of the article Violetta Rushev says there is no doubt about Armenia’s commitment to intensify its political and economic ties with the EU.

“The planned signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement on the sidelines of the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels will be Armenia’s second attempt to get closer to the EU”, Violetta Rushev writes, reminding that in 2013 Armenia didn’t sign the agreement with the EU and announced the decision on joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Rushev says the rapid change in political and economic preferences in Yerevan served like a cold shower for the EU bureaucrats.

According to author, for some, the decision, taken by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in the run-up to the 2013 EPS in Vilnius, was at first sight unexpected, but it barely surprised those who are familiar with the economic situation of this small South-Caucasian republic. She said Armenia, a landlocked country, has few natural resources, closed border with Turkey and uneasy relations with Azerbaijan. “Considering these circumstances, this tiny Christian Orthodox country had no other options but to seek Russia’s support”, she writes, adding that at present, Russia is Armenia’s biggest trade partner.

“If Armenia signs the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in Brussels next week, it will be the first member of the EAEU and CSTO to sign a framework agreement with the EU. It looks as though Armenia, trapped between its traditional ties to the East and a desire to integrate with the West, chose the latter option”, the author said.