In a live interview with Poland’s TVP World news on 25 August, RSC Director Richard Giragosian joined TVP World’s Maciej Mikos to assess if Armenia’s EU ambitions are a realistic long-term goal or a negotiating tactic aimed at Moscow, how Yerevan is diversifying its security and economic partnerships beyond Russia, and why the outcome of the war in Ukraine may determine whether Armenia’s current window of strategic opportunity remains open.
In response to a question over the threat of “a military invasion by Russia,” Giragosian dismissed such a scenario, adding that it “seems unlikely, especially given the military incompetence of the Russian side, as demonstrated on the Ukrainian battlefield.” He noted, however, that Armenia’s close economic ties with the Russian market give Moscow leverage that could keep “Armenia hostage within the Eurasian Economic Union.”
“This is also why connectivity, trade and transport, and energy links with Armenia in terms of reopening closed borders, establishing normalized relations with its neighbors is so crucial to countering that Russian pressure,” Giragosian added.