According to political scientist Armen Vardanyan, Azerbaijan will integrate more closely with EAEU in the near future. In a conversation with Aravot.am, the political scientist, referring to the participation of the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov in the extended session of the EAEU countries’ prime ministers today as a guest, said that it is obvious that Azerbaijan will strengthen its relations with the EAEU countries in the near future. “Azerbaijan’s integration into the EAEU can be in different formats: membership, EAEU observer status, or by signing a free trade agreement with the EAEU, etc.”
The regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in which RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also participated. Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov for the first time, as a guest, participated in the extended session of the Prime Ministers of EAEU countries. According to the Azatutyun radio station, Asadov said that Azerbaijan has excellent relations with almost all EAEU member states.
“New realities emerging in the region create good opportunities for unblocking transport communications, as well as opening new transport and trade routes.”
Read also
Armen Vardanyan recalled that in 2015-16, journalists asked the authorities of Azerbaijan whether Azerbaijan can join the EAEU, and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mamedyarov said that they can and are ready to join if the Nagorno Karabakh issue is resolved: “Of course, by the solution of the Karabakh issue, they mean the implementation of the Lavrov plan. After that, they put a condition before Armenia: implementation of Lavrov’s plan. It didn’t work, and a war started. I think that now Azerbaijan should return the debt to Russia. Russia’s neutrality, acting in favor of Azerbaijan in many cases, did not happen just like that. Azerbaijan received many things from Russia. For example, the sale of 5 billion weapons.
During the war, it turned out that the quality of the weapons sold by Russia to Armenia was not good, it turned out that five of the anti-aircraft systems ordered by Armenia were damaged, and many such things will be found out. It is obvious that Russia supported Azerbaijan in occupying a significant part of the territory of Artsakh. Let’s not forget what kind of services the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service Sergey Naryshkin has provided to Azerbaijan.
In other words, Russia made a deal with Azerbaijan and will have to give things in return.” Vardanyan also reminds that at the beginning of the year, during his visit to Baku, the Prime Minister of Russia clearly and openly offered Azerbaijan to become a member of EAEU. In this regard, Vardanyan says that if such a question is asked, the Armenian authorities will have to agree: “Because Armenia’s dependence on Russia is too great. Twenty days ago, a new war was unleashed in Artsakh, and Russian peacekeepers were in the role of observers. We are very vulnerable, we don’t have the resources to resist decisions like Russia’s.”
Nelly BABAYAN
