November 25, 2011 - 15:25 AMT
Expert: Armenia should not rush to join Eurasian Union

Armenia should not rush to join Eurasian Union, political analyst Sergey Shakaryants said.

Mr. Shakaryants explains the aforesaid by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s statement claiming Eurasian Union to be formed in 2013 instead of 2015.

“If Belarus that possesses greater potential and resources than Armenia was warned against accelerating the process, Armenia should be more ‘modest’,” Shakaryants said.

The Eurasian Union (EAU) is a proposal for economic cooperation between Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and other Eurasian Countries. The idea was brought to attention in October 2011 by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, but was first proposed as a concept by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, during a 1994 speech at a Moscow university. On November 18, 2011, the Presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement, setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Union by 2015.