"Naive wish or justification?" On Pashinyan's speech in St. Petersburg
Pashinyan’s speech in St. Petersburg
“The EAEU and its economic principles should not be linked to political ambitions,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg.
Political scientist Robert Ghevondyan says that the Eurasian Economic Union is one of Russia’s integration projects whose goal is to preserve Russian influence in parts of the post-Soviet space. In his opinion, Moscow uses integration projects in all aspects, including security.
He emphasizes that in 2013 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan explained the decision to join the EAEU, at that time the structure was still called the Customs Union, by the security factor. Thus, the analyst considers it an incontrovertible truth that the EAEU, in fact, “has political overtones”.
The regular meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Kyrgyzstan Sadir Zhaparov. From January 1, 2024, the presidency of the EAEU bodies will pass to Armenia.
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“There should be no political and even less a geopolitical agenda in the EAEU”
The Armenian Prime Minister said that there should be no political narrative in the EAEU, and this “basic principle” is laid in the foundation of the agreement on the creation of the EAEU, signed by its members.
“We continue to perceive the EAEU in this way and develop interaction within our economic cooperation in this context, seeking to suppress all attempts to politicize Eurasian integration. EAEU. The basic freedoms of trade and integration cannot and should not be restricted due to political considerations, it will definitely lead to the corrosion of the fundamental principles of the association.”
He also discussed problems accumulating within the EAEU. In his opinion, it is necessary to
- coordinate approaches, principles and mechanisms for the creation of common energy markets by the member states,
- expand areas of cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and development of renewable energy,
- introduce digital technologies in the practical activity of state business processes with the active involvement of IT communities of the EAEU countries.
He vowed that Armenia is ready to show “a flexible approach to balance the interests of the EAEU member states” on these unresolved issues.
“In this challenging time for all of us, efforts should be concentrated to maximize the effects of the EAEU, taking into account the national priorities of socio-economic development,” Pashinyan concluded.
Commentary
According to political scientist Robert Ghevondyan, Pashinyan’s statement that the process of economic integration may not have a political context is a naive wish:
“Either Nikol Pashinyan is trying to create a ground to justify Armenia’s non-participation in Russian security programs, primarily within the CSTO military bloc.”
The political analyst told JAMnews that the statement of the Armenian Prime Minister is in line with the interests of another EAEU member country – Kazakhstan. He recalls that during the formation of the union, President Nazarbayev expressed similar thoughts. He stated that the EAEU should be a purely economic structure, which should not include political contexts.
Ghevondyan believes that today Armenia’s economy has no alternative to the Eurasian Economic Union. He emphasizes that the current authorities have failed to create an alternative to the Russian structure over the past five years, but now it is already necessary to start the diversification process.
“In such a case, it will be much more profitable for Armenia to leave the EAEU than to stay. But this will not mean that Armenia will have to sever ties with, for example, the Russian, Kazakh or Belarusian markets. On the contrary, Armenia’s trade turnover can be much more efficient if the country forms economic processes with these states on the basis of bilateral agreements,” he explained.
At the same time, the political analyst does not believe that only the presence of alternatives will allow Armenia to leave the EAEU. As an example, he recalls the situation with the CSTO military bloc, also operating under the auspices of Russia.
The Armenian authorities are in no hurry to withdraw therefrom, although the country has already formed new partnerships, additional opportunities have appeared and there is a demand from the society:
“The Armenian government is simply not ready to withdraw from Russian integration projects. It is naive to think that if there were an alternative, Armenia would withdraw from the EAEU.”
In Ghevondyan’s opinion, the best solution for Armenia at the moment would be to leave the CSTO, but continue its membership in the EAEU. He explains that Russia is fully utilizing all levers of influence on Armenia and is not striking a more serious blow only because of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed against it.
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Pashinyan’s speech in St. Petersburg
