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LITHUANIAN POLITICAL REVIEWER SEES ARMENIA'S MOVE AS SIGN OF DESPAIR
Baltic News Service / - BNS
September 3, 2013 Tuesday 6:44 PM EET
VILNIUS, Sep 03, BNS - Armenia's decision to join the Russian-led
Customs Union was caused by pressure from Moscow, Lithuanian political
reviewer Vytis Jurkonis has said.
Jurkonis, a lecturer at the Vilnius University's International
Relations and Political Science Institute, says that the statement made
by the Armenian president on the move to accept the Russian proposal,
thus thwarting the option of signing the Free Trade Agreement with
the European Union (EU), can be viewed as a sign of despair.
"The statement should not be a surprise to many those who said that
Armenia is among the most dependent upon Russia. On the other hand, the
benefits and efficiency of the Customs Union with Belarus, Kazakhstan
and Russia, when Armenia has no borders with any of the countries,
is not convincing," Jurkonis told BNS.
"Without doubt, it is part of a larger game - the Russian Federation
is stepping up pressure upon countries of the Eastern Partnership
program so that they do not sign Association Agreements. Armenia's
geographical location and its complex relations with neighbors are
unenviable. The statement can be viewed as a certain sign of despair
due to the rather indefinite situation Armenia is in. In any case,
Russia and the Customs Union are hardly a better alternative to the
European perspective," he said.
Armenia's president announced intentions to join the Customs Union
after meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin earlier on
Tuesday.
Baltic News Service / - BNS
September 3, 2013 Tuesday 6:44 PM EET
VILNIUS, Sep 03, BNS - Armenia's decision to join the Russian-led
Customs Union was caused by pressure from Moscow, Lithuanian political
reviewer Vytis Jurkonis has said.
Jurkonis, a lecturer at the Vilnius University's International
Relations and Political Science Institute, says that the statement made
by the Armenian president on the move to accept the Russian proposal,
thus thwarting the option of signing the Free Trade Agreement with
the European Union (EU), can be viewed as a sign of despair.
"The statement should not be a surprise to many those who said that
Armenia is among the most dependent upon Russia. On the other hand, the
benefits and efficiency of the Customs Union with Belarus, Kazakhstan
and Russia, when Armenia has no borders with any of the countries,
is not convincing," Jurkonis told BNS.
"Without doubt, it is part of a larger game - the Russian Federation
is stepping up pressure upon countries of the Eastern Partnership
program so that they do not sign Association Agreements. Armenia's
geographical location and its complex relations with neighbors are
unenviable. The statement can be viewed as a certain sign of despair
due to the rather indefinite situation Armenia is in. In any case,
Russia and the Customs Union are hardly a better alternative to the
European perspective," he said.
Armenia's president announced intentions to join the Customs Union
after meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin earlier on
Tuesday.