MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Armenia’s leadership that the country cannot pursue European Union membership while remaining inside Russia-led economic arrangements that include a customs-union track. Speaking at the start of talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow, Putin said Russia was “absolutely calm” about Armenia’s efforts to forge closer ties with the EU, but he argued that for Armenia “it’s impossible to be in a customs union with the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.”
Putin’s comment positioned the EU-accession goal and Armenia’s obligations inside the Eurasian Economic Union against each other, particularly in trade rules that differ between the two markets. The Eurasian Economic Union, created in 2015, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and it is designed as a single market intended to allow the free movement of goods, capital and labor, according to the description provided in the talks coverage.
Armenia, which signed a U.S.-brokered agreement last year ending decades of hostilities with Azerbaijan, has increasingly sought to deepen ties with Washington and the European Union. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared an intention to join the EU, and Armenian authorities have suspended the country’s participation in the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Putin’s message underscored that, beyond politics, he said the two blocs operate under widely different market regulations and that reaching common ground was unlikely “any time soon.” He added that Armenia is still receiving Russian natural gas at a much lower price than European prices, framing energy costs as a concrete part of Armenia’s current economic relationship with Russia.
Pashinyan responded that Armenia understands it cannot simultaneously be a member of both blocs, but said the country can combine Eurasian Economic Union membership with developing cooperation with the EU. He said, “Ties with Russia are very deep and important for us,” according to the account of the talks.
The exchange came amid growing strain in Armenia’s relationship with its longtime sponsor and ally Russia after Azerbaijan fully reclaimed the Karabakh region in 2023, ending decades of ethnic Armenian separatists’ rule there. Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught, while Moscow rejected the accusations and said its troops did not have a mandate to intervene.
Putin argued that Pashinyan’s 2022 decision to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan made it impossible for Russia to intervene during the fighting. Putin also pointed to a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and to a prospective transport corridor promoted by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, as opening up regional cooperation opportunities.
Putin further voiced hope that pro-Russia forces would be allowed to compete freely in Armenia’s parliamentary elections set for June. He said some representatives have been put in custody, in an apparent reference to Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, a critic of Pashinyan who was arrested last year after calling for the ouster of the government.
Pashinyan replied that Armenian law bans holders of Russian passports from taking part in elections.