Pashinyan: Armenia is not going to blackmail the EU on the issue of its integration

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan is not going to blackmail Brussels on the issue of its integration into the European Union.

"Yes, we have adopted a law to start the process of membership in the European Union, but our strategy is that we are not going to use blackmail tools, including towards the EU, saying that we have adopted it, so accept us into the EU next month. We need zero emotions on this issue," the Armenian prime minister said during his speech at the 8th meeting of the Armenia-EU Civil Society Platform. The event was broadcast by local television channels.

According to him, for Armenia, the key in this matter is compliance with high European standards. Pashinyan added that when Armenia objectively reaches this point, the issue of joining the EU will become political in nature.

"The EU may decide not to expand further or may decide to expand under a certain logic. And we cannot force anyone," the head of the Armenian government said, reiterating that, in any case, Armenia will benefit from this process, even if it is not accepted into the EU.

On March 26, 2025, deputies of the Armenian parliament, during the second and final reading, adopted a law to initiate the process of the republic's accession to the European Union. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that this does not mean an automatic start of the accession process for Yerevan to the community, as this issue requires a referendum. In turn, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan explained that the bill was a public initiative that had gathered the necessary number of signatures.

As stated by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Russia views these actions as the beginning of the republic's withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union. According to him, joining the EU is incompatible with a country's membership in the EAEU.

Source: TASS