Situation in Armenia Will Stabilize After Parliamentary Elections, CIS Secretary General Says

MOSCOW — Commonwealth of Independent States Secretary General Sergey Lebedev expressed the view that the situation in Armenia will stabilize following the country’s parliamentary elections.

“Yes, I believe there are prerequisites for that, because Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated that, at this moment, they are not preparing to leave the Eurasian Economic Union. As for leaving the CIS, there is no discussion of that at all. They continue to remain part of our structure,” the official said.

After Armenia’s parliamentary elections, the Russian president has still not congratulated Prime Minister Pashinyan.

Meanwhile, amid calls for Armenia to quickly choose between the EAEU and the European Union, official Moscow, both before and after the elections, successively banned key Armenian agricultural products — from flowers to fruits and vegetables, and from Jermuk mineral water to alcoholic beverages and fish products — citing noncompliance with standards.

Lebedev said Armenia’s authorized representative also participated in today’s meeting of the CIS Economic Council and signed documents.

“We hope that everything will be fine,” the CIS secretary general added.