Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has rejected for the moment convening a popular consultation for citizens to choose between the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Instead of a vote, he has advocated continuing to collaborate with the EAEU until the country officially submits its application for accession to the community bloc and it becomes inevitable to choose only one path.

With this stance, Pashinyan responds to the countries that make up the EAEU –Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan–, who during Friday’s summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, demanded a clear definition of Armenia’s place in the organization and pressured him to call a referendum as soon as possible.

“We are working and will continue to work within the Eurasian Economic Union until the choice (…) becomes inevitable, and, naturally, it must be made by the people of Armenia through a referendum,” the head of the Armenian government stated in a video released this Monday on his social media.

Pashinyan has stressed that he sees no reason to rush any consultation, recalling that, although Armenia submitted its application related to the EU in March 2024, the procedure is in a very preliminary stage and the country does not even yet have official candidate status. “Holding any referendum is illogical,” he insisted.

The leader has described this debate as a matter of a “theoretical nature” and, consequently, has considered that submitting it to a popular vote right now “is certainly not very reasonable or correct, and lacks foundation.”

“We will continue to work calmly, peacefully, without tensions or disputes within the Eurasian Economic Union, and I am convinced that we still have potential in this direction,” Pashinyan concluded.

The EAEU will review its agreements with Armenia before the end of the year

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has announced that the EAEU member states will analyze in the coming months whether to suspend current agreements with Armenia before the next council meeting, scheduled before the end of the year. “All of this must be discussed before December,” stated Moscow’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov also communicated that a telephone conversation took place between the Armenian prime minister and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, focused on the agenda discussed at the Astana summit, without offering additional details about the content of that exchange.

In the days prior to the meeting in the Kazakh capital, Russia had already warned that it reserves the option to annul the energy agreements it maintains with Armenia if Yerevan continues with its process of rapprochement and eventual accession to the EU.