Armenia may try on role of "junction zone" of Eurasian and European  economic spaces - expert 

ArmInfo. In the future, Armenia may try on the role of a "junction zone" of the Eurasian and European economic spaces. This is the opinion of Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at  the Center for Mediterranean Studies at the National Research  University Higher School of Economics and a postgraduate student at the Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

The analyst noted that current global political processes have forced Russia and Armenia to reconsider their approaches to bilateral cooperation. According to him, Moscow has begun to pay more attention to the development of economic ties with other regional players with whom it maintains constructive relations - Azerbaijan and Turkey, while Yerevan prioritizes obtaining strong security guarantees.

"At this stage, Moscow and Yerevan have nothing to offer each other on such important issues as political loyalty and military support. Geopolitical turbulence has exposed problems in the ability of Russia and Armenia to meet mutual expectations, as a result of which the relations between the two countries are subject to serious erosion,"  says an analytical note published on the Russian International  Affairs Council and dedicated to Russian-Armenian cooperation at the present stage.

Meloyan noted that initially it was observed in a separate sphere - military-political, but with the adoption of the bill "On the beginning of the process of accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union" there is a risk of its spread to the entire complex of bilateral relations.

"At a certain point, Yerevan may find itself in a situation where it will need to choose which trajectory to follow next. Armenia's  simultaneous membership in the EAEU and the EU, as well as the build-up of Yerevan's military-political interaction with the West, which aims to strategically defeat Russia, are technically impossible and unacceptable for Moscow. It is possible that in the future, a window of opportunity will open for the South Caucasian republic, and Armenia will be able to try on the role of a "junction zone" of the Eurasian and European economic spaces. In the current international realities, such an option is impossible," the expert added. 

Meanwhile, he continued, no matter what the political background, the  fact remains that Armenia is an important ally of Russia in the region. "Both sides have been laying the legal foundation in a variety of areas for many years. All this must not only be preserved and increased, but also adapted to the changing international situation. The new content of the allied relations between the two countries must correspond to international realities and meet mutual expectations," Meloyan concluded.