Pashinyan says Armenia committed to cooperation within EAEU

Armenia has said it is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to strengthen economic stability and support the region’s sustainable development. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made the remarks while addressing an online meeting of the EAEU Intergovernmental Council.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Pashinyan said Yerevan supports efforts to open transport and communication routes in the region and develop trade ties.

He stressed the importance of restoring rail links between Armenia and Azerbaijan under his country’s “Crossroads of Peace” initiative and the TRIPP project, as well as establishing a new transport corridor between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea.

Pashinyan said the projects would bring significant economic benefits to regional states. He added that, at a restricted-format meeting, he had briefed his counterparts on some aspects of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and the unblocking of communications.

At the same time, the Armenian prime minister complained about administrative barriers and other problems in the EAEU’s internal market. He acknowledged that the principles of free movement of goods, services, capital and labor within the union remained on paper, and that no significant progress had been made since the meeting in Cholpon-Ata. Pashinyan called on EAEU members to engage in constructive dialogue to remove barriers to the export and transit of Armenian products.