Putin urges Armenia to decide sooner on EU membership

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Bishkek on Tuesday that Yerevan should decide sooner on European Union membership. Putin said trade between Russia and Armenia reached $2.5 billion in 2026.

Scraper SystemSeptember 01, 2026, 11:45 PM

Putin urges Armenia to decide sooner on EU membership

Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan, who were in Bishkek for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, discussed the future of Russia-Armenia relations and Yerevan's orientation toward the European Union.

Putin said Moscow needed clarity on how bilateral relations with Yerevan, particularly in the economic sphere, should move forward. Saying that Russia remained Armenia's most important trade and economic partner, Putin announced that trade between the two countries had reached $2.5 billion in 2026.

The Russian president also said that Armenia's gross domestic product had tripled since joining the Eurasian Economic Union, while its exports to the union had increased tenfold. Putin said Moscow supported friendly and mutually beneficial relations with Yerevan and that numerous joint projects, including in the nuclear sector, transport and the digital economy, were continuing.

EU and Eurasian Economic Union membership

Putin acknowledged Armenia's right to pursue membership in the European Union. However, he warned that such a step could create various problems, including in connection with Yerevan's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.

Arguing that simultaneous membership in the two economic blocs was incompatible, Putin described Armenia's adoption of the law initiating its EU accession process as a declaration of its intention to leave the Eurasian Economic Union. Putin said Armenia should decide sooner on the European Union.

Pashinyan: We are interested in deepening relations

Pashinyan, meanwhile, said Armenia was interested in deepening its relations with Russia. He said Yerevan's adoption last year of the law initiating the EU accession process did not violate its obligations to Russia or the Eurasian Economic Union.

Pashinyan said Armenia had not informed its partners of any decision to leave the union. He added that the law was intended to offer Armenia and its people alternatives, not to take a step against Russia or the Eurasian Economic Union.

Armenia is seeking closer relations with the European Union while maintaining its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. Moscow, meanwhile, argues that integration with the EU is incompatible with membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and could result in the loss of economic privileges within the bloc.

Putin urges Armenia to decide sooner on EU membership