EU not waiting for Armenia with open arms: Russian senator says

YEREVAN, November 29. / ARKA /. Armenia's possible accession to the EU would not justify expectations of part of its citizens, because no one in the EU is waiting for Armenia with open arms, Nikolay Ryzhkov, the co-chairman of the Russian-Armenian inter-parliamentary cooperation commission, and a member of the Russian Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, said today in Yerevan.

"Some people think the main focus should be on the European integration, which they say is real, while the proposed Eurasian Union is just an idea. My personal opinion is that these people should not indulge in illusions,’ he said at a news conference in the Armenian parliament.

Ryzhkov said 20 years ago Russians discussed hotly the possible integration with the West, as its opponents warned that "the West needs Russia completely for other purposes" and they appeared to be right. No one was waiting for us there, and we gradually slid to our former position. It is certainly Armenians’ business. If you want to become part of European community, go ahead, but please have in mind no one there will welcome you with kisses," he said.

As for Eurasian integration Ryzhkov said when this idea is translated into reality it will equally reflect the interests of all member countries.

"The Eurasian Union will be the union of old friends, because it is already 20 years we are different countries, but we still hail from the same nest ," he added.

The idea of the Eurasian Union was first proposed in 1994 by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In early October 2011, in an article for "Izvestia" daily Russia’s Putin wrote that the Eurasian Union could be set up on the basis of the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The article said the Eurasian Union is not an attempt to restore former Soviet Union or replace the CIS, but an effective "link" between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with close coordination of economic and monetary policies of member states.

The EU has been negotiating an Association Agreement with Armenia since July 2010 in the framework of the Eastern Partnership and the European Neighborhood Policy. The future Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area will be part of this Agreement, which aims at closely associating this country to the EU both in economic and political terms, in line with the Eastern Partnership objectives. The future trade relations will therefore expand significantly beyond the scope of current cooperation, set out in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements, in force since July 1999. -0-