Political scientist Elkhan Shahinoglu commented on the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan yesterday to Medianews.az.
He stated that Putin firmly warned Pashinyan, "You must choose either the European Union or the Eurasian Economic Union; it is not possible to have both simultaneously," as reported here:
"Putin once said the same words to Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych, and it is clear what the result was; the war between the two countries has entered its fifth year. In other words, Putin seemed to imply to Pashinyan that if you make the wrong decision, it will have severe consequences for Armenia just as it did for Ukraine.
Pashinyan’s response to Putin was that Armenia has not yet reached the stage of having to choose between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Overall, the meeting between the two leaders in front of the press yesterday took the form of mutual accusations. This is a rare occurrence. Although both leaders tried to express their thoughts diplomatically, Pashinyan essentially gave a negative response to every proposal from Putin."
Naile Gasimova,
Medianews.az