Members of a Russia-led economic alliance warned Armenia on Friday that it could face suspension over its aspirations to join the European Union, as tensions between the Kremlin and the Armenian leadership continued to simmer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan—who attended a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan—indicated that Armenia’s bid to join the European Union creates “significant risks” for its economic security. They instructed their officials to prepare a report by December on the “possible consequences of suspending” Armenia’s membership in the bloc.
The four leaders also urged Armenia to hold a referendum offering voters a choice between seeking membership in the European Union or remaining in the Eurasian Economic Union—a single market established in 2015 to facilitate the free movement of goods, capital, and labor. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had previously rejected the idea of holding such a vote.
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