Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Armenia's possible accession to the European Union is "simply impossible", since, in his words, Yerevan is already a member of a customs union with Moscow, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
"Simultaneous membership in the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union is simply impossible by definition," Putin stressed during a meeting in the Kremlin with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"We understand that every country is trying to extract maximum benefits from its cooperation with third countries, but this must be done in an obvious and honest way and agreed from the very beginning," the Russian president added.
Armenia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus region, joined the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union in 2015.
For two years, however, Yerevan has increasingly demonstrated distrust of Moscow, which is a historical ally and arms supplier to Armenia, and which still has a military base on the territory of the country.
Yerevan accuses the Kremlin of not providing sufficient support to Armenia during its disagreements with Azerbaijan, most notably during the armed conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and 2023.
In the spring of last year, the Armenian parliament passed a law that allows the start of accession negotiations with the EU, which is Russia's rival in the Caucasus region.
For his part, Vladimir Putin also expressed hope that the "pro-Russian" political movements could participate in the parliamentary elections scheduled for June this year in Armenia.
"We would really like all these parties and politicians to be able to take part in this internal political work during the elections," Putin pointed out to Nikol Pashinyan.