Russian Senators: Yerevan has chosen the path of European Integration without any legal guarantees of reciprocity

The European Commission’s evasive stance on the timeline for introducing a visa-free regime with Armenia comes as no surprise: Brussels traditionally demands maximum concessions from aspiring nations while limiting its own commitments to vague assurances of “brilliant prospects.” Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council, stated this in an interview with TASS.

“The only unexpected thing in this situation is the utterly unfounded gullibility of Armenia’s current leadership toward such assurances,” the senator noted.

Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, stated that Armenia is receiving no reciprocity in its pursuit of European integration, and that Yerevan’s aspirations risk leading to an endless wait in the hope of joining the European Union.

“As I have stated more than once, Pashinyan is stepping on the ‘’Ukrainian rake’’. Yerevan has effectively chosen the path of European integration without any legal guarantees of reciprocity,” Slutsky said.

The lawmaker also pointed out that by striving for European integration, the current Armenian authorities have “exposed long-standing cooperation with Russia to severe risks of revision” and thereby weakened their own economy, which remains predominantly oriented toward the Russian market.