YEREVAN, July 21 The Armenian side manages to comply with its rules in the face of anti-Russian sanctions, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse Pashinyan stated that on the issue of sanctions, Yerevan is fully in contact and cooperating with both the special representative of the European Union and the representative of the United States, «demonstrating the behavior of a responsible representative of the international community.» He added that the actions of the Armenian side in this matter are transparent.
The prime minister recalled that Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, and Russia is the main trade partner of the republic. «Naturally, from the first days we understood that the sanctions applied by Western countries against Russia would cause certain problems. We also understood that Russia would also have certain expectations from us so that we could help in this difficult economic situation, of course, within our capabilities, because imagine the volumes of Armenia and the volumes of Russia,» Pashinyan said in an interview, the text of which is posted on the website of the Armenian government.
According to him, Yerevan also understood that the West would also expect support in terms of compliance with the sanctions regime. «In a conversation with our Russian partners, we said the following: we understand your expectations and are ready to justify your expectations, but as long as there is no danger of Armenia falling under sanctions, because if such a huge state as Russia can afford to fall under sanctions, then Armenia, especially in such a military-political situation, cannot afford it,» the prime minister said, adding that the same was said to the West.
“And we work according to this rule. Of course, there are also well-known forces that constantly lobby in the European and American press to show that Armenia is a kind of “gray zone” in this regard, but at the official level at the moment we have no demands either from the EU and American partners, or from Russia, because we don’t want to cheat with our partners, we say everything clearly, and I consider our position legitimate,” Pashinyan said.
According to him, this does not mean that everything is perfect. «First of all, I must state that the sanctions regimes change very often. And the goods are actually transported by the private sector. We are doing everything possible to ensure that everything is within the framework of the rule that I mentioned above. And, in my opinion, and not only in my opinion, but also in the opinion of our international partners, we are succeeding in this and we will continue to do so,» the Armenian prime minister said.