STEPANAKERT (Tert)—Artsakh’s exclusion from the Eurasian Economic Union’s accession process should not come as a surprise, as there was never an initiative for the country’s membership, Artsakh’s Presidential Spokesman David Babayan said.
Babayan says the country submitted no bid for joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with Armenia and neither had its legal status issue clarified to make such a deal possible.
“There’s nothing strange about it. We have not yet achieved state recognition by either Kazakhstan or Belarus, so we have absolutely nothing to worry about,” he told Tert.am, commenting on the ratification of Armenia’s EEU treaty by Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The two countries’ legislators, who approved the deal earlier this week, stated in their decisions that Karabakh would not integrate into the EEU after Armenia’s membership.
“We do not have to politicize everything. We cannot simply be a member of that union, as we have not submitted a bid. Also, we have recognition-related problems,” Babayan said.
“Armenia has for over eight years been a member of the World Trade Organization, and there was no problem about that. So is there any reason to artificially complicate the situation here, provoking debates and speculations? There will simply be no changes at all,” he said.
Commenting on the recent developments, political analyst Levon Shirinyan said he thinks the processes will develop as agreed.
“The President did say that Artsakh is part of our republic … so the treaty was ratified based on the preliminary agreement,” he noted.
Asked whether he sees any hazards, Shirinyan admitted to having concerns. “When, sometime in the future, Kazakhstan and Belarus improve their relationship with Azerbaijan, they may come to treat the Artsakh issue as a playing card. To prevent this from posing a permanent threat to us, Armenia has to first of all build its relations with Russia in the integration process. Russia appears to be the main channel of our relationship. And the important thing is to strengthen Armenia. So our main relationship is with the strategic ally, and that should be built on an equal footing as partners, not as a master and servant. Our objective should be raising Armenia’s role,” Shirinyan said.
Bravo Mr. Babayan!
First off, Artsakh could not have been admitted even if they wanted to. Mother Russia wants to keep her options open. The rapprochement with Azerbaijan is still pending and if handing over the territory on the Kremlin’s best silver platter is beneficial to their interests, then the limbo status quo must remain in place.
Second, the main issue now is having to oblige with EEU rules when trading with Armenia. If the trading comes into conflict with nay other member, then EEU rules must take precedence. Armenian interests no longer apply in this setup.
Finally, any attempt for Artsakh to reunite with Armenia will be blocked by opposing members if it in their political interest. Since it will change the dynamics of the bloc, it must be pre-approved by all members. Basically, the future of Artsakh is now in the direct hands of foreign governments, some even hostile to us be default.
They can spin this however way they want, but the fact is that Artsakh is now outside the Armenian orbit. It’s an island left to fend for itself. Its umbilical cord with Armenia severed by our self serving enemies. The day will come to regret this historic mistake. The only land outlet it had to the outside world is now effectively shut down.
well in that case Artsakh has no choice to join EU :p
Artsakh should join the EU instead.
Mer hairenike pokranalov shutov k darna miain Artsakh.Mez mnum e 10000 kar kilometer mer hin haireniki 300 000 k kilometrits.Sra patchare mer davachanneri mets ashkhatanki ardiunkn e.