ASTANA—While Leaders of Russian, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed an agreement Thursday to for the Eurasian Economic Union, President Serzh Sarkisian, in an address at the gathering said Armenia would be ready to join the union on June 15.
“I ask to set June 15 of the current year as the deadline for Armenia’s joining the Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union,” said Sarkisian, adding that “It will take two or three days to find mutually beneficial decisions on the remaining issues.”
“I confirm that the country is ready to take necessary measures in order to submit the treaty to the parliament shortly and approve it,” he said.
Sarkisian said that Armenia had worked out a roadmap for joining union. “The term has been set by businessmen and the public, who seek to receive answers to the existing questions,” he said.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin was joined by Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko and Kazakhstan’s leader Nursultan Nazarbayev is signing the Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union in Astana Thursday. The agreement will go into effect on January 1, 2015.
Under the treaty the three countries assume commitments to guarantee free movement of goods, services, capitals and manpower and pursue a well-orchestrated policy in such key economic industries as energy, production industries, agriculture and transport sector.
The union will give the citizens of member states equal employment and education opportunities across all three nations.
“A new geo-economic reality of the 21st century is being born today,” said Nazarbayev, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. The deal was “a hard-won achievement,” he said, and “a blessing for our people.”
“It’s your success, if not to say triumph,” Putin told Nazarbayev, according to Interfax.
Not only is Sarkisian the shortest in stature, he’s also getting the short end of the stick in this deal.
Armenia must join the Eurasian Economic Union, because it will have a positive impact on the economy and stability of Armenia.
It is catastrophic! Armenia should never join Eurasian union. We have nothing in common with these eurasian countries. They are against our interests. Armenia has more in common with Europe whether you guys like to admit it or not. We are Christians like most european countries all and we have a lot of cultural similarities with them.
The West cares more about us than Russia does. All Russia does for us is sell old, obsolete weapons that are not even that good. Russia sells Azerbaijan more advanced and sophisticated weapons. On top of that, Russia wants to make Armenia a russian oblast. We would lose our independence and Armenia would be doomed if we joined the Eurasian union, but if we remain with the West we have more chance to survive believe it or not.
Vladimir Putin wants to make a 21st century Soviet Union, for the benefit of all countries.