In an analysis by Marianna Grigoryan, “Armenia: Customs Union Commitment Risks EU Cooperation Chances,” published on September 10 by Eurasianet, the RSC was cited for noting that the decision has “cast doubts” on the Armenian president’s “reform dedication.” The articles noted that, “Richard Giragosian, a political scientist and director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan, described Sargsyan’s Customs Union policy as perhaps the gravest geopolitical error in Armenia’s post-Soviet history, and, if implemented, one that would have lasting consequences for Armenia.
.“This recent decision demonstrated that Armenia has made a strategic blunder and has lost another opportunity,” Richard Giragosian told EurasiaNet.org. “This poses a very serious threat to our future. This is not only a loss for Europe; this is a far greater loss for Armenia. The price required for this wrong decision will be paid by the population, and it only strengthens the oligarchic system in the country.”
Giragosian also predicted that Customs Union membership would cause a massive drop in public confidence in the government’s ability to foster a better life for the majority of Armenians at home, and thus spur a new and vast wave of emigration.”