Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan greet each other during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo)
Armenia cannot be both a member of the European Union and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, President Vladimir Putin told Armenia's Prime Minister on April 1, amid tensions over Yerevan's pivot towards the West.
Armenia has shifted its foreign policy away from Russia in recent years, in part because Moscow did not intervene militarily when Azerbaijan launched an offensive against ethnic Armenian separatists in September 2023.
The former Soviet Republic froze its membership of the Russian-led CSTO security alliance in 2024 and in the same year expressed an interest in joining the European Union, further deepening its rift with Moscow.
Armenia signed a U.S.-brokered agreement last year ending decades of hostilities with Azerbaijan.
"We see that Armenia is discussing developing relations with the European Union, and we are completely calm about this," Putin said.
"But it should be obvious... Being in a customs union with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union is impossible. It's simply impossible by definition," he added.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he was aware being in the two unions was incompatible, but that pursuing both paths was possible "for now.”
"When the processes develop to the point where a decision needs to be made, I'm confident that we, I mean the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, will make that decision, of course," he said.
Moscow and Yerevan are formally allies but their ties have become increasingly strained under Pashinyan.
Armenia's foreign intelligence service warned earlier this year that "external actors" were trying to meddle in Armenian politics, in what analysts believe was a reference to Russia.
Putin also voiced hope that pro-Russia forces will be allowed to freely compete in Armenia's parliamentary elections set for June, noting that some of their representatives have been put in custody - an apparent reference to Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, a critic of Pashinyan who was arrested last year after calling for the ouster of the government.
Pashinyan, who has been in office since 2018, responded that Armenian law bans holders of Russian passports from taking part in elections.
