A statement on Armenia was signed at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters following the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit Friday, BelTA reports.
One of the questions addressed to Lukashenko concerned the position of Armenia, which, according to the country’s leadership, would like to either remain in the EAEU or join the European Union (EU).
He said that this topic was discussed at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in a closed format, and a corresponding statement was signed.
“We all stated: we do not want Armenia to leave our Eurasian Union. At the same time—this is [Russian President] Vladimir Vladimirovich’s [Putin] statement in his speech, we respect Armenia’s choice. I added right there: we respect the choice of the people of Armenia. If the people make such a decision and agree to leave the union in which they are located and someday join the European Union, we cannot go against the will of the Armenian people,” the Belarusian president revealed the details.
“And after that, we added in that statement that we support the desire of Armenia’s leadership, which announced it, to hold a referendum on this issue,” he continued.
And such a referendum should be organized in an honest, open, democratic manner, Lukashenko drew attention. If all this is so, and the Armenian people express their opposition to the EAEU, that decision will be accepted in the EAEU, he stated.
“However, the leadership of Armenia, especially the people of Armenia, should understand what they gain and what they lose. The Russian president promised to report in detail about this to the entire international community, whoever wants to hear it,” said the Belarusian head of state. “He will once again tell in detail—Russian specialists have prepared this information for him—what it means to abandon the Eurasian Union, in which Armenia is currently located, and join the European Union.”
Also, Lukashenko drew attention to the fact that the examples of a number of countries show that the timeframes for accession to the EU can be very stretched in time, and the Armenian people should also take this factor into account when making an important decision.
“Taking into account Ukraine, which has long wanted to, and what is more important, taking into account Turkey, which has been in line for membership in the European Union, in my view, for 25 or 30 years,” added the Belarusian president.
