Lavrov: EU likely to deceive Armenia over integration aspirations

YEKATERINBURG, September 16. /TASS/. European Union authorities will likely drag out Armenia’s European integration, if they let it in at all, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the International Youth Festival.

"If we talk about the aspirations of the government of [Armenian Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinyan toward the European Union, they can be deceived, and I think the European Union authorities will most likely deceive them. I do not see how Armenia can end up in the European Union, where Turkey, for example, and Serbia have already been waiting in line for many decades," the Russian foreign minister said.

"We in no way want to artificially delay the diversification processes announced by Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan," the Russian diplomat stressed. "I have just said that we support every country’s right to choose its partners and its path of development."

However, Yerevan will still have to make a choice, according to Lavrov. "Because if the process of introducing European standards into Armenian legislation and regulatory practice has already begun, Russia would not want to pay for Armenia’s membership or preparations for membership in the European Union through the enormous preferences that Armenia receives in the Eurasian Economic Union," Lavrov explained.

The International Youth Festival is being held in Yekaterinburg from September 11 to 17 under the slogan "Follow Your Dream."