Armenian legislature discusses bill proposing to suspend EEU membership (video)
The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Armenian National Assembly today discussed a bill submitted by lawmaker Khachatur Kokobelyan who proposes to terminate Armenia’s membership to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The lawmaker thinks that by choosing to join the EEU Armenians have deprived themselves of alternatives. “We are treated as outcasts and minority everywhere. We cannot deny this bitter truth, but we persistently try to convince ourselves that the membership was a positive move. On the other hand, after the membership we have been gradually losing international investments, therefore, I propose that we suspend the membership.The sooner we do it, the better for us. May in our society realize and object to the membership saying we have gained nothing from the EEU or the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization). We did not see the military equipment worth around 200 million that we were supposed to receive from Russia. I think that this was one of the main reasons [for Azerbaijan] to start the four-day war in April,” Mr Kokobelyan stressed. He expected the Committee to reach an agreement on the measure. “I do not want to know who is for or against the proposal. I want everyone to understand that the EEU was a challenge rather than an opportunity for us. Also, I disagree with the opinion that Armenia was obliged to join the EEC and had no other option. I do not want us to become advocates of Russia, I just want everyone here to defend the interests of our country.” Mr Kokobelyan added that as a CSTO member country, Armenia was unable to prevent Russia from selling arms to Azerbaijan. “Our enemy gets 80 percent of its weapons from Russia..” Artak Zakaryan, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he would vote against the bill as he saw disputable provisions in it. The other Republican MPs urged to postpone the discussion of the draft. In the long run, Khachatur Kokobelyan accepted the proposal of his Republican colleagues to postpone the discussion for one year.
