Manaseryan: Armenia's economic ties with Russia are becoming stronger, and there are no visible efforts to diversify relations with other nations
YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. Doctor of Economics Tatul Manaseryan noted the strengthening of Armenia's economic ties with Russia, which contradicts the pessimistic forecasts of pro-Western analysts.
"We should not take seriously the forecasts of pro-Western analysts that dependence on Russia could negatively affect the Armenian economy. Firstly, these statements have been made for seven years, but we still have not seen initiatives aimed at diversifying economic relations with other countries. On the contrary, Armenia's relations with the Russian Federation are strengthening, which looks positive," Manaseryan said at the "Armenia-EAEU: Together Forward" forum in Yerevan, dedicated to assessing the achievements of ten-year cooperation between Armenia and the EAEU and studying the prospects for further cooperation.
The economist also noted that the 16 packages of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia also affect the Armenian economy.
Discussing Armenia's interaction with the EAEU, Manaseryan noted that Armenia can be considered one of the architects and co-authors of the Union, created by four countries ten years ago (Kyrgyzstan joined later).
"Armenia has been part of the EAEU from the very beginning, but back in 2013, when Armenia became a member of the Customs Union, some experts and politicians, both in the West and beyond, predicted that the union would eventually fall apart," Manaseryan recalled.
Earlier this week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said that trade turnover between Russia and Armenia is already declining and is projected to be halved by the end of 2025 compared to 2024. He noted that if last year's trade turnover was $12.4 billion, this year it is expected to grow to $6 billion or slightly more.
According to Armstat, trade turnover between Armenia and Russia in the first half of 2025 amounted to $3.4 billion, recording a 54.8% decline compared to the first half of 2024. At the same time, exports during the reporting period decreased by 6.2% to $1.3 billion, while imports from both the exporting country and Russia decreased by 65.5% to $2.1 billion.-0-
