Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not participate in the Eurasian Economic Union leaders’ summit scheduled for May 28 in Astana.

He said that during his April 1 visit to Russia he informed President Vladimir Putin that, because of the election campaign, he would be unable to attend the meeting, according to 1lurer.am .

“At that time I did not even know whether there would be an invitation or not, but out of politeness and respect I informed him in advance that I would not be able to attend the May 9 parade and would also be unable to participate on May 28,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister added that he had spoken by phone the previous day with the president of Kazakhstan and once again informed him about his absence.

“Deputy Prime Minister Grigoryan will participate in the event,” Pashinyan noted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier stated that Armenia should clarify its position regarding possible membership in the European Union. He said Armenia’s plans to join the EU “require special discussion.”

“For example, a referendum could be held. It is not our business, but in principle it would be entirely logical to ask Armenian citizens what their choice will be. Based on that, we would draw conclusions and move toward a soft, civilized and mutually beneficial ‘divorce.’ After all, we are now witnessing everything that happened in the Ukrainian direction. And how did it begin? With Ukraine’s attempt to join the EU,” Putin said.