Brussels is not interested in the South Caucasus nations prosperity as it seeks only to weaken Russia, Ara Abramyan has told RT

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is leading his nation into a trap by pushing it closer to the EU, World Armenian Congress President Ara Abramyan has said in an interview with RT. Brussels is luring Yerevan with vague promises as it seeks only to break Armenia's ties with Russia, he believes.

Under Pashinyan, the South Caucasus nation has launched the process of seeking EU membership. Last month, the prime minister hosted an EU-Armenia summit and a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), an EU-led intergovernmental group launched in 2022 in response to the escalation of the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow has said that closer integration with the EU would make Armenia's continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) impossible due to incompatible standards. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in May that the South Caucasus nation could lose up to 14% of its GDP if it leaves the economic organization.

According to Abramyan, the alternative to the EAEU that is offered by the EU is unclear. "They don't even talk about prospects, not even empty words," he said, referring to the EU leaders. "No one says... 'we will create conditions for a good life'."

The bloc is unlikely to invite Armenia to join it or even open its market to Armenian goods, which are mostly agricultural products, any time soon, said Abramyan, who leads the organization coordinating Armenian diasporas around the world.

Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed to "ease the trade for some Armenian products, in particular agri-food," adding that Brussels had allowed a shipment of 10,000 flowers to Latvia.

According to Abramyan, the EU has reduced Bulgaria's agricultural sector to virtually nothing, even though the country had once been a major agricultural exporter within the Cold War-era Warsaw Pact.

European farmers now oppose Ukrainian agricultural exports, he said. "How can they let Armenia in? [...] It's a deception. It's against Russia," Abramyan warned.

"They [the EU] want Russian [military] bases [in Armenia] to be closed to completely ruin relations with Russia," the diaspora leader stated. "Armenia has one partner and that is Russia. This is a strategic partner," he maintained.

Armenia remains heavily reliant on the Russian market. According to UN data, Russia accounted for nearly 24% of Armenian exports in 2024, making it the country's second-largest export destination after the UAE.

"They [the EU] want to destroy all of this economically," Abramyan said, adding that following a pro-EU path could "destroy Armenia completely."

Watch the full interview here:

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(RT.com)