NA Republican MP, Khosrov Harutyunyan, is convinced that Armenian accession to the Eurasian Economic Union is not due to the Karabakh problem. “There is a necessity of conformity of regulations in trade regimes. It is due to technical problems,” said Mr. Harutyunyan to Aravot.am, referring to the observations by former president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, that the founding members of the European Union has put a harsh condition before Armenia: to install customs checkpoints along entire border of Armenia-Karabakh. As said by Mr. Harutyunyan, “To connect protraction of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union to the question that Armenian faces the inevitable necessity of installing a border with Karabakh means to misrepresent the situation. The most interested party in Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union is Russia. In this economic structure, all decisions are made by consensus, today, 1+2 formula is operating without Armenia. Nazarbayev and Lukashenko are trying to extort the maximum from Russia in this EU project for their own purposes. Armenia’s accession to this structure restore the balance, and it becomes 2+2, at least this is what Nazarbayev and Lukashenko are thinking, and it is not beneficial to them. Therefore, Karabakh is the most convenient opportunity for them, even though they are also well aware that there should be no other approach for Karabakh.
We cannot endanger our national security for the sake of some integration program. But, they are trying to hamper Armenia’s accession to the Union by Karabakh issue, thus creating unfavorable conditions for Russia.” According to him, drawing the Karabakh problem forward by Lukashenko and Nazarbayev is an opportunity to acquire additional “assets” against Russia. “They are convinced that sooner or later Armenia will become a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, but they think that if it is possible to acquire dividends in the meantime in the relations with Azerbaijan, and in case of Nazarbayev, it is Astana-Baku-Ankara line, then why they should not try doing it. I do not think that the Karabakh conflict would ever be an obstacle in Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Union.” To our question of whether Russia’s silence was not a sign of agreement to preconditions presented to Armenia, he said, it is not. “Because the problems are solved in the backstage, by closed telephone talks and not in public debates.” As said by Mr. Harutyunyan, Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Union increases the security guarantees of this structure from the south, which Russia is trying to do. “The President of Armenia has stated his stance about Karabakh that he ever and under no circumstances imagines Armenia and Karabakh separate, independent, and internationally distinguished areas. We are not ready to installing borders between the two countries, i.e. within the same state, for the same of accession to the Eurasian Union. Armenia is nor facing such a problem, it is not Armenia’s task to install a border between Karabakh and Armenia, this task is resolved.”
ARPINE SIMONYAN
