YEREVAN — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia on Thursday, October 22, of trying to topple him when he reacted to a Eurasian Economic Union (EEU or EAEU) report paving the way for Armenia’s suspension from the trade bloc.
The extensive report released on Tuesday on behalf of the prime ministers of Russia and three other EEU member states says the Armenian government’s efforts to join the European Union run counter to the EEU’s founding treaty and rules. It also effectively suggests that Yerevan be frozen out of the Russian-led union until holding a referendum on EU membership demanded by Moscow.
“We are dealing with a political component aimed at inciting internal political instability in Armenia and ultimately establishing control over the Armenian state – in other words, stripping Armenia of its independence, first de facto and subsequently de jure,” Pashinyan said, commenting on the report.
He claimed that Moscow already tried to do that during the 2023 exodus of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population and parliamentary elections held in Armenia in June this year.
“In essence, a third attempt is currently being prepared,” he told reporters. “Undoubtedly, this is part of a widely discussed secret plan.”
Russian officials did not immediately react to the accusations that came in advance of Pashinyan’s anticipated crunch talks with President Vladimir Putin. Moscow has been pressuring Yerevan to quickly choose between continuing to seek EU membership and remaining part of the ex-Soviet bloc essential for the Armenian economy.
