Armenia Rejects Legal Grounds for Possible EAEU Suspension, Finance Minister Says

YEREVAN — Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan has dismissed the legal arguments presented in a recent report concerning the possible suspension of Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), describing them as unconvincing.

Speaking during parliamentary discussions on the draft 2027 state budget, Hovhannisyan responded to concerns raised by opposition Armenia Alliance lawmaker Artur Khachatryan regarding the government’s preparedness for potential changes in the external economic environment.

Khachatryan questioned whether the government had conducted scenario planning to assess the consequences of losing the economic benefits associated with EAEU membership.

“Our projections are not simply averages; they are realistic. We have assessed the risks, and reserve funds have been allocated to mitigate their impact should they materialize,” Hovhannisyan said.

Addressing the possibility of Armenia’s suspension from the EAEU, the minister said the government does not consider the legal arguments outlined in the recently published report to be sufficiently substantiated.

“I do not see a major problem regarding the EAEU. In our view, the legal mechanisms for removing Armenia from the organization, as presented in that report, are not well-founded,” he stated.

The report, prepared by the EAEU’s four other member states — Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan — examined the potential economic consequences of suspending Armenia’s membership.

According to its authors, such a development could lead to a roughly 70 percent increase in natural gas prices in Armenia, a 30–50 percent decline in exports, and a reduction in gross domestic product exceeding 15 percent.

Although the report acknowledged that the EAEU treaty contains no explicit mechanism for suspending or expelling a member state, its authors cited the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which allows for the termination or suspension of multilateral treaty obligations under certain circumstances.

Armenian authorities have rejected the report’s assessments. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously stated that Yerevan would formally communicate its objections to its EAEU partners.

Hovhannisyan also addressed restrictions imposed on Armenian agricultural exports to the Russian market in 2026, expressing confidence that the difficulties would eventually be overcome.

“These issues will be fully resolved. Either the restrictions will be lifted, or our diversification efforts will succeed. We have already achieved progress in that direction,” the minister said.