Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk warned at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia fears Armenia's potential integration with the European Union could lead to the closure of its airspace to Russian aircraft, as has already happened with the EU.
“Look, today we have no air traffic with the EU. The EU has closed its skies to Russian flights. Will Armenia do the same? If you’re in the EU, then yes, because Brussels will say: ‘Close your skies,’ and you’ll obey—there will be no alternative. So what then?” he said, as quoted by TASS.
Overchuk further cautioned that such restrictions would impact hundreds of weekly flights and could disrupt cargo transport systems.
“Where will those hundreds of weekly flights go? Through Tbilisi? The same thing will happen at land borders—you know, an Armenian truck will reach Upper Lars, and then the cargo will be transferred to a Belarusian or Russian truck, which will take it to Russia, while the Armenian driver returns to Armenia. This could actually happen,” he warned.
“These issues need serious attention. We are thinking about this and assessing the situation,” Overchuk emphasized.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also stated that Armenia’s possible EU membership is incompatible with its current membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.
On March 26, Armenia’s National Assembly passed a bill in its second and final reading initiating the country’s EU accession process. The government had approved the plan on January 9, following a proposal by the “Eurovote” civic initiative. However, the EU has not yet formally invited Armenia to join, and opposition parties have dismissed the bill as legally nonsensical. The Armenian president has signed it into law.
