Armenian authorities did everything to find themselves at center of  clash of interests between Russia and EU - Robert Kocharyan 

ArmInfo.The Armenian authorities have done everything to find themselves at the center of a clash of interests between Russia and the European Union. This was stated by Robert Kocharyan, Armenia's second president and the prime ministerial candidate from the Armenia bloc, in an interview with  Armenia TV.

"If the heads of four states make such a statement, it means that  four countries at least see a problem here.  It's strange that  Armenia doesn't see this problem. They passed a meaningless law on EU  accession, and then, with concrete steps, provoked all of this,  bringing it to this point," the second president of Armenia said,  referring to the tensions between the Armenian authorities and the  EAEU, as well as the demand for a referendum on membership in the EU  or EAEU.

Speaking about how the current situation can be resolved, Kocharyan  expressed his belief that the country's leadership must develop  horizontal, long-term planning in the interests of the country, not  just to maintain their own grip on power three months before the  elections.

He disagreed with the notion that this pressure from Russia,  Armenia's northern neighbor, is being exerted ahead of the elections.  He recalled the circumstances that preceded it. The politician noted  that the Armenian authorities recently traveled to Brussels and asked  for protection from possible hybrid attacks.

"If we try to assess the cause and effect relationship, rather than  reasoning as a biased outside observer, the picture emerges  differently. The Armenian authorities have done everything to find  themselves at the center of a clash of interests between Russia and  the European Union. Does Russia have interests here? Of course they  do. And Russia's interests here are incompatible with the EU's," the  politician stated.

He expressed his belief that Armenia has artificially inserted itself  into the center of this clash of interests, creating a number of  problems for itself, instead of pursuing a complementary policy as it  had in previous years. In particular, without damaging relations with  Russia, it is necessary to develop dynamic relations with the EU.

At the same time, touching on the Russian restrictions on imports of  Armenian products and the actions of the Armenian authorities,  Kocharyan stated that official Yerevan continues to deepen its  confrontation with Russia in the absence of other markets. "Armenia  has no alternative market. Simply none. They have exported  practically nothing in agricultural products to the EU over the past  eight years," he said.

The politician is convinced that this is more of an election ploy,  saying, "elect us, and we will solve your problems." However,  according to Kocharyan, the problem won't be resolved after the  elections because it is too deep.

He is also confident that the state will not be able to compensate  for the damage inflicted on Armenian producers as a result of Russian  sanctions. "People simply don't understand the scale and depth of the  problem. They can't compensate for this volume," the former Armenian  leader said.

As a reminder, on January 9, 2025, the Armenian government approved a  draft law on the start of the EU accession process, proposed by the  "Eurakve" civic initiative. The draft was sent to the Armenian  parliament for approval. On March 26, the parliament passed it in its  final reading and sent it to the president for signature. The  document was signed on April 4 of that year. Moscow stated that  Russia had conveyed to Armenia that simultaneous membership in the  Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union was impossible. On May  9, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to journalists,  suggested that Armenia decide on its membership in the EU and the  EAEU as soon as possible, expressing its readiness to "begin a  civilized divorce" if necessary. Yerevan responded by stating that it  would leave the EAEU whenever it deemed it necessary.

It should be noted that, according to the RA Statistics Committee,  foreign trade turnover between Armenia and the EAEU countries  decreased by 36.9% in 2025, amounting to just over $8 billion. Export  volumes fell by 5% to $3.2 billion, while imports declined by 48.5%  to $4.8 billion.

Trade with Russia during the reporting period declined by 38.3%,  amounting to $7.6 billion. Trade with Belarus increased by 22.9% to  $251.4 million in 2025. Trade with Kazakhstan increased by 6.3% to  $115.9 million. Trade with Kyrgyzstan declined by 23.2% to $11.3  million. The EAEU countries accounted for 37.5%.

In the first quarter of 2026, trade turnover between Armenia and the  EAEU countries decreased by 15.6% to $1.4 billion. At the same time,  exports demonstrated a decrease in volume of 6.5%, amounting to  $685.9 million, against the backdrop of a decline in imports by 22.6%  to $722.7 million.