Actual regret

“The discussions are on our agenda. We regularly meet our colleagues and discuss these matters. We haven’t received an official invite to become a member of the Union because these discussions are not over yet. Armenia is interested in the integration processes both within the Eurazes and the CIS as well as the EU,” stated the Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan during the first Q&A session of the fifth convocation of parliament when responding to the question of an ARF MP Artsvik Minasyan.

The latter also asked what the attitude of the government was in regard of this initiative. “We also agree that the cooperation with our colleagues should expand but we think that the tools of cooperation must be up-to-date and conform to the current challenges and issues of the world. We think that it is not right to contradistinguish different integration processes and in this regard the RF policy matches with our interests. It means that the processes and initiatives of Eurazes should never contradistinguish to the CIS initiatives,” stated Tigran Sargsyan. These statements are vital because these are the first public speeches about the Eurasian Union by the Prime Minister.

The last time Tigran Sargsyan expressed an opinion about this structure and mostly about the customs policies of the structure in May of the current year during his interview to Russian Vedomost magazine. “We have always been big supporters development of economic ties within the CIS and Evrazes. In the meantime, joining the customs union is senseless for us because we don’t have common borders with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus,” wrote Tigran Sargsyan, who was the only high-rank official of Armenia, who openly spoke against the customs union, which also means reservations of Armenia to the membership of Evrazes.

Based on this statement, some would say that he would take the pressure of Russia on himself to protect Armenia from Evrazes. After May, many things have changed. In August president Sargsyan went to Moscow. During the visit Sargsyan stated that Armenia and Russia will find ways to overcome the hurdles of customs union because of the absence of common borders. Several days after that, The young people of Prosperous Armenia, who are not very fond of Sargsyan, organized a youth conference in Tsakhdadzor on Evrazes.

And none of the governmental elite in Armenia dared to speak against this conference and the idea in general. Under these circumstances, the statements of Sargsyan from yesterday prompt that he mildly-said regrets for his past contrary statements to Evrazes. It is not excluded that in the current Armenian conditions he might become a “white raven” in the process. And now prior to the presidential elections on the background of antipathy to Tigran Sargsyan of the Prosperous Armenia Party, this status is mildly said not beneficial and it full of unpredictable consequences.

Besides that, on these days the Armenian government elite is waiting whether Vladimir Putin will visit Armenia or not. Tigran Sargsyan is one of the representatives of this and he probably made this statement with the fear that if he did otherwise he wouldn’t be able to shake Putin’s hand if he visits.