One week after again warning Armenia against trying to join the European Union, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk travelled to Yerevan on Wednesday for a regular session of the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.
The Armenian government said the commission, co-chaired by Overchuk and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, reviewed the “entire scope of trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations” and agreed on unspecified “further steps” to develop cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats. The statement provided no details. A very similar readout was issued by Russia.
Neither vice premier spoke publicly immediately after the meeting.
Overchuk told reporters on December 11 that Russian-Armenian trade is on course to halve this year, to about $6 billion. He said Russian companies have grown “wary of working with Armenia” amid ongoing frictions between Moscow and Yerevan.
Analysts connect this decline primarily to Armenia no longer serving as a conduit for large-scale exports of Russian gold and diamonds to international markets. The decline notwithstanding, Russia is still Armenia’s largest trading partner. Russian trade accounted for more than 35 percent of Armenia’s external trade in the first half of the year, while the relevant share of trade with the European Union was 12 percent. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, which provides for tariff-free access to the Russian market.
“We believe that simultaneous membership in the two integration associations is incompatible,” Overchuk said. “At some point, the people of Armenia will have to make a choice.”
Overchuk had issued the same warning during a visit to Yerevan in August. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said nonetheless in September that Armenia would intensify “efforts aimed at Armenia’s accession to the European Union.”
