Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk has once again said that Armenia will eventually have to choose between the EU and its current alliance, the Eurasian Economic Union.

In an interview with the Russian state-run TASS news agency, Overchuk said that Moscow would treat Armenia’s choice with understanding.

“Of course, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said, we will accept any choice of the Armenian people with understanding,” the deputy prime minister said when asked by TASS about Armenia’s closer ties with the West.

He said the Armenian authorities will at some point have to choose either to stay in the Eurasian Economic Union or pursue potential EU membership instead.

“In Armenia, there is talk about the aspiration to move closer to the European Union. We have repeatedly said that membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union is incompatible. This is also very well understood in Armenia, and the country’s leadership has also spoken about the fact that they are incompatible. At some stage, they will have to make that choice, if they decide that they need to make such a choice,” TASS quoted Overchuk as saying.

The Russian deputy prime minister also said that Armenia is an allied state of Russia and that the two countries are united by deep and long-standing friendly ties.

“Moscow has great respect for the Armenian people. Armenia is a very close, allied country for us. It is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The human ties that unite us are very deep and very strong,” Overchuk said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently called on Armenia to swiftly choose between the EU and its current alliance, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, responding to Putin’s remarks, said that he previously discussed the matter with the Russian leader. “And I have said that until the moment when there is no need to make a choice—both de jure and de facto—we are not placing such an issue on the agenda,” the Armenian leader said earlier this week.

The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 15 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.55 drams to 368.23 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.78 drams to 428.95 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.0111 drams to 5.0312 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 5.49 drams to 492.77 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 4 drams to 55442 drams.

Prosecutor General of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan received the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia, Khalil Shirgholami.

Vardapetyan congratulated the ambassador on assuming his diplomatic mission and wished him fruitful work for the benefit of the peoples of both countries, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Armenian prosecutor general expressed condolences over the deaths of numerous Iranian citizens as a result of military operations, particularly the tragedy involving students of the Minab school.

The ambassador thanked Vardapetyan for responding positively to the initiative for the meeting, emphasized the centuries-old close ties between the two friendly peoples based on mutual trust, and highly appreciated the current level of cooperation between the prosecutors’ offices of the two countries.

The sides also discussed issues related to the extradition of wanted persons, the provision of legal assistance and other matters of mutual interest.

Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, said it had reached an agreement to conduct inspections at several Armenian enterprises following talks with Tigran Petrosyan, head of Armenia’s Food Safety Inspection Body.

According to a statement released by Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian agency will also inspect companies whose exports to Russia had previously been suspended over the “suspected import of falsified fish products allegedly of European origin,” following a request from the Armenian side.

The agency said a preliminary inspection and analysis of imported rainbow trout, including photographs, had raised doubts about the origin of the raw materials used in the production of the fish products.

Rosselkhoznadzor stated that the rainbow trout declared in veterinary documents did not correspond morphologically to the imported fish. According to the agency, the fish had colouring atypical for the species and an unusually large weight exceeding 5.5 kilograms, which, it said, indicated that the fish may have belonged to another salmon family or species.

The Russian agency added that, following the agreements reached and at Armenia’s request, it plans to inspect Armenian crop production enterprises to ensure the supply of genuinely Armenian and phytosanitarily safe products.

Rosselkhoznadzor also expressed concern over what it described as a growing number of quarantine organisms detected in quarantine-regulated products imported to Russia from Armenia by member states of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The statement added that the agency’s regional office has already tightened phytosanitary controls on quarantine goods supplied from Armenia to Russia.

Members of the Armenian National Congress, led by parliamentary candidate Levon Zurabyan, toured the streets of Yerevan on May 15 as part of campaigning for Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections, meeting and speaking with residents.

Zurabyan distributed campaign leaflets to citizens, presented the party’s programme and answered questions from the public.

Addressing problems in the public transport sector, Zurabyan said Yerevan’s infrastructure as a whole needs to be transformed.

Campaigning for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7 officially began on May 8 and will continue until June 5. A total of 19 political forces -including two alliances and 17 parties -have registered to participate in the vote.

The Armenian National Congress is running under ballot number 10 with the slogan “A Rational Path for Armenia.” The party has submitted an electoral list consisting of 99 candidates to the Central Electoral Commission.

Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Kazakhstan took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, headed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, David Karapetyan, and the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Amangeldi Sainov, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a readout.

The Kazakh delegation participating in the consultations also included the Director of the Human Resources Department of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, Medet Makulzhanov.

During the consultations, the interlocutors touched upon a wide range of issues related to cooperation between the apparatuses of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.

In particular, views were exchanged on the organization of diplomatic service, training and retraining of personnel, best practices in the field of human resources management, as well as steps taken towards the structural and functional modernization of the two ministries.

Both sides emphasized the importance of enhancing direct contacts between the respective departments of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and holding regular consultations in the context of increasing the efficiency of the diplomatic service and exchanging experience.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia congratulated the Republic of Paraguay on its Independence Day.

“We warmly congratulate the government and people of the Republic of Paraguay on their Independence Day,” the ministry said in a post on X.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia Hamlet Harutyunyan received the Consul General of the US Embassy in Armenia, Jerry Barnett, Head of the Visa Department Alex Jones and representatives of the consulate.

During the meeting, the sides discussed reforms implemented in the field of child protection and intercountry adoption, as well as efforts aimed at improving legal regulations.

In particular, the Armenian Justice Ministry presented steps taken toward developing domestic regulations stemming from the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, as well as the process of developing draft government decisions arising from Armenia’s Family Code.

The discussion also focused on initiatives and planned regulations aimed at clarifying sectoral procedures, increasing the efficiency of the process, and ensuring transparency and accountability.

The sides emphasized the need to protect the best interests of children, introduce legal mechanisms in line with international standards, and ensure predictable and reliable procedures in the field.

The parties highly appreciated the constructive and effective cooperation established in the area of child protection and intercountry adoption, stressing the importance of continuously developing and strengthening bilateral ties in this sphere.

The Football Federation of Armenia has announced the list of foreign-based players called up by head coach Yeghishe Melikyan for Armenia’s upcoming friendly matches.

Melikyan included Georgiy Harutyunyan of Puskás Akadémia FC, Edgar Sevikyan of FC Akron Tolyatti, Nair Tiknizyan of Red Star Belgrade, Eduard Spertsyan of FC Krasnodar, Davit Hakobyan of FK Železiarne Podbrezová, Grant-Leon Ranos of Eintracht Frankfurt, Arthur Miranyan of Bnei Sakhnin F.C., Narek Grigoryan of FCV Farul Constanța, David Davidyan of FC Rotor Volgograd, Artem Bandikyan of PFC CSKA and Tigran Avanesyan of FC Orenburg in the squad.

Vahan Bichakhchyan, Finn Geragusian, Styopa Mkrtchyan and Ugochukwu Iwu will miss the national team camp due to injuries.