Russian expert hails Armenia’s decision to join Customs Union

PanARMENIAN.Net - The decision to join the Customs Union, announced at the meeting between the Armenian and Russian Presidents in Moscow, is based on the long-term strategic interests of both countries, a political analyst said.

As Andrey Areshev told PanARMENIAN.Net it’s still hard to discuss specific terms for mutual coordination of positions; however, the political decision was taken, which is important.

“Armenia’s foreign policy line implied mutually complementary interaction, however, Yerevan's European partners objected to the approach, as did the forces aiming to use the so called Eurointegration to reorient Armenia and loosen the country's ties with Russia," the expert said.

He reminded that a number of agreements on infrastructure projects have already been reached in Moscow, whereas the European Union mainly limited itself to admonitions and attempts to introduce new social values, the line of action hardly welcome for the Armenian society.

He also spoke about the Russian-Armenian military and technical cooperating in the CSTO framework, Russian market where Armenian agriculture products are sold as well as money transfers from work migrants. "In the context of agreements reached, many issues related to economic cooperation can be solved more effectively. However, pro-Western circles in Yerevan hardly have a reason to panic. Russia's ties with the European Union are in no way threatened," the Russian expert stressed.

Earlier, Armenia expressed intention to join Customs Union with further plans to be involved in formation of EurAsEC.

Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the initiative, voicing readiness to assist Armenia in the process.

He also noted that Russian Railways may invest 15 billion rubles in development of Armenia's railway network.

The Customs Union was formed in 2010 to include of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia; Kirghizia and Tajikistan later expressed willingness to join the Union.