Reproaches, threats, dissatisfaction may be intensified day by day by November: those should be ignored
The Parliamentary “Yelq” faction has made a legislative initiative to start “a process of terminating the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty with the Republic of Armenia”.
Apparently, the process of terminating Armenia’s membership in the EAEU has caused some shocks, and we will have to listen to different reproaches from Russia and the selfless supporters of Russian interests in Armenia by the signing of a new framework agreement between Armenia and the EU expected by November.
In fact, the problem is that we have become more complicated in terms of Armenia-Russia relations. In any case we wonder what Moscow will think about it, how Russia will oppose us. And this sometimes makes us make unnecessary judgments, as a result of which seems we are always in the role of an entreater, of someone who constantly tries to justify himself, and oftentimes, we are in the position of justifying the actions of the Russian side forgetting about the interests of our state.
For instance, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan recently received the delegation headed by First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Gleb Nikitin. The prime minister said, “Despite the fact that the Russian capital has great involvement and representation in Armenia, I am sure that the Armenian market is still underestimated for Russian companies, especially in terms of entering the markets of third countries, Iran and the European Union. The Free Economic Zone of Meghri, the GSP + system that operates with the EU can significantly contribute to this”. The prime minister further added that Armenia can meet the interest of the Russian side, Armenia may become a good platform for Russian capital to come out to major international markets.
If all the prime ministers and ministers of Armenia must persuade Moscow for Armenia to become a “platform” for years, with no increase in the living standards of ordinary citizens of Armenia, vice versa, with more complication of the social-economic situation, it turns out that those are just empty talks.
Still how long are they going to tell us that by joining the EAEU “the markets of the member countries of the structure, estimated to be 170 million, are opened in front of Armenia”, and in the long run, to “explain” Armenian citizens that we cannot enter the 500 million EU market, because we do not have competitive products, and “justify” their point asking why, for example, the prime minister does not have an agenda for visiting Western countries yet. And why doesn’t he have such an agenda yet? That is, on the one hand, we do not even try to become a competitive state, on the other hand, we are doomed to proving Russia just how attractive noncompetitive Armenia is for the latter? It is a great opportunity: in response to the “Yelq” initiative, the Prime Minister should show the concrete percentage of achievements of the Republic of Armenia in the context of accession to the EAEU.
The problem is really deep. Armenian political and economic processes are so strongly connected to Russia, that state officials, and experts seem to feel obliged to first mention Moscow’s interest in any sentence they say.
That is, on the one hand, Armenian oligarchs in Russia are the pledge of development of Armenia, but on the other hand, since not all Russian-Armenian oligarchs are in “deal with the power”, are they in a state of expectation, waiting for their great hour of power change to “deal with other authorities”? Is this the path of Armenia’s development, with the whims of Russian-Armenian oligarchs, with whom they consider suitable for the power to carry out the investments?
Reproaches, threats, dissatisfaction from the Russian side may be intensified day by day by November, the signing of the EU-Armenia agreement. Apparently, the highest Russian authorities will not make statements that “Armenia should not sign an agreement with the EU”, on the contrary, they will assure that it’s not the business of Russia, that “it is the sovereign decision of Armenia”. But the campaign against Armenia by the pro-Azerbaijani Russian experts in the Azerbaijani websites, and the Russian experts’ tough comments in the pages of Russian periodicals will not stop.
This is a way of psychological pressure, the Armenian authorities should simply ignore the Russian provocations and sign the agreement with the EU in November.
Emma GABRIELYAN
