Edmon Marukyan, leader of the Bright Armenia party and former ambassador-at-large, has criticized the government's efforts to initiate Armenia's accession to the European Union, labeling them as deceptive tactics aimed at garnering votes in upcoming elections and misleading both the Armenian public and the EU. He expressed these views in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

Marukyan emphasized that Armenia might be capable of implementing reforms that align with European standards, such as constructing prisons or producing cheese to those standards, but achieving full EU membership is unrealistic. He pointed out that no high-ranking EU officials—specifically Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, and Kaja Kallas—have acknowledged or welcomed the Armenian parliament's recent adoption of the EU accession bill, interpreting this silence as indicative of the EU's lack of intention to open membership doors to Armenia.

He further argued that the EU is aware of the Armenian government's alleged deceptive maneuvers and has no plans to offer membership opportunities to Armenia. Marukyan also noted that the Armenian authorities have misled the public with false hopes and expectations regarding EU accession.

Addressing security concerns, Marukyan stated that the EU is a consumer, not a provider, of security, historically relying on the United States for protection. He referenced statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about withdrawing security support unless NATO members increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Marukyan concluded that while Armenia can implement reforms to meet European standards, full EU membership is unattainable. He also questioned the EU's future stability and urged a realistic assessment of Armenia's geopolitical situation, considering its borders with Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. He highlighted that Georgia has halted its integration process, rendering Armenian initiatives in this direction unrealistic.