On 1 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Yerevan to participate at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. Besides revealing future plans for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Putin also met with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the wife of former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, Bella Kocharyan.

EAEU future plans

Speaking in front of the audience, Putin said that the EAEU created a 'voluminous' common market, which is successfully functioning. He noted that special attention should be paid in removing all barriers to trade goods and services. The common electricity space should be formed simultaneously with the creation of the EAEU's natural gas, oil and oil products markets in 2025. “First of all, it is necessary to complete the process of harmonization of the legislations of the member states in the field of gas supply and transportation,” he said.

Another important aspect of the EAEU development lies in the expansion of cooperation with other international actors. Putin said that the Russia-Africa summit will be held for the first time in Sochi, Russia on 23-24 October, and the EAEU intends to sign a memorandum of understanding with the African Union Commission. According to him, the EAEU has also been expanding cooperation with the dynamic economies of the Asia-Pacific region, especially with China. ”We are convinced that the early [uptake] of the cooperation agreement between EAEU and China will be a step towards linking EAEU's integration processes with the Chinese One Belt, One Road initiative,” he said. Besides China, other actors from the Asia-Pacific region are also interesting to the EAEU. “The geography of our contacts gradually expands, currently the Union is conducting negotiations with 13 countries, over 120 international organizations and structures, very soon we will start negotiations over free trade with India,” Putin highlighted.

Pashinyan and Putin meet in person

The much anticipated meeting between Pashinyan and Putin also took place at the sidelines of the conference. Two meetings were conducted between the Russian President and the Armenian Prime Minister, one official and one unofficial.

“I would like to congratulate you as the President of the EAEU on the results of the summit in Yerevan. These are very positive results as regards [to] the development of our ties with third countries. You have just said this. What is no less and probably even more important for us is that there was not a single setback. On the contrary, all agreements between EAEU members have been reached. You have done everything you could for this productive work. Therefore, I would like to congratulate you and thank you for this,” said Putin to Pashinyan and also invited him to come to Russia.

Pashinyan expressed his hope that the strategic partnership between the two countries becomes even stronger. Afterwards, he posted on Facebook that he had a “brilliant talk” with Putin and that the “Armenian-Russian relations are on a reliable and positive track.”

Pashinyans’ spokesperson Vladimir Karapetyan said at a press conference that Pashinyan and Putin confirmed their commitment to the development of [a] strategic partnership between the two countries and the full use of the available potential. He added that both leaders emphasized the need to intensify economic cooperation, saying that the gas prices were also a topic of conversation. “The issue is to be discussed and settled by corresponding structures which are currently negotiating,” he said.

The meeting with Bella Kocharyan

Surprisingly, Putin also met with the spouse of the Armenian former President Robert Kocharyan, Bella Kocahryan in the Russian embassy in Yerevan. Representative of the Russian Embassy to Armenia Alexander Guchkov declined to comment on the meeting. The head of Robert Kocharyan’s administration Viktor Soghomonyan confirmed the information about the meeting but refused to unveil details of the conversation.

For reminder, Putin congratulated Kocahryan on his birthday a few weeks before arriving in Yerevan (Caucasus Watch reported).