Lavrov calls on EU to stop imposing Europe-or-Russia choice on post-Soviet republics
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called on the European Union to stop imposing a choice between Europe and Russia on former Soviet republics, TASS reports.
"It is inadmissible to put the countries of the post-Soviet space before a false choice - either with the West or with Russia," he said in an interview with Armenian media.
"It is an absolutely ideology-driven, politicized approach," he stressed.
"On its own example, Armenia demonstrates that it is not senseless to develop relations with all," Lavrov said. "On the contrary, it is a winning policy which is beneficial for the country that pursues it."
He hailed Armenia’s position in its relations with the European Union insisting on recognition of its rights and liabilities in other integration processes. "Naturally, to ensure that the rights of neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan nor other members of the EU Eastern Partnership program are not infringed upon, that their interests are not prejudiced, it is very important that European Union drops its vile either-or logic which already triggered Ukrainian development in 2014," the Russian top diplomat noted. "It is like stealing a possibility of developing comprehensive all-round cooperation with all neighbors from a nation".
Moscow is optimistic about future relations between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as Brussels will ultimately have to work with this organization, Lavrov said.
According to the Russian top diplomat, the EAEU invited the European community for cooperation as far back as three years ago, but the European Union refused to accept the Eurasian Economic Union as an equal partner "due to absolutely ideology-driven politicized reasons."
"This bias stays in place to a certain extent up till now," he said. "But now realistic people are coming to Brussels."
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