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Armenia’s integration into the European Union may result in the complete impoverishment of its population as one of the consequences, TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying at a briefing.

"Armenian products will face higher customs duties, and this will lead to a sharp drop in GDP growth rates. I, for one, believe that this is the main [consequence], as it will be a blow not just to revenue and profitability currently, but to development," she said. "If we refer to the scale of production, and Armenia's population, it simply can lead to widespread impoverishment."

According to the diplomat, the export of Armenian goods will drop by 80%. Meanwhile, replacing Yerevan's trade flow with the Eurasian Economic Union states with alternative sources is impossible even in the medium term, she emphasized. "Some experts in Armenia claim that the West, namely the European Union, is allegedly ready to cover everything," the diplomat added. "Look, just give me an example when they paid for everything. But they do know how to take everything and are able to do so, we know that, we can see these examples."

On January 9, the Armenian government approved a draft resolution on launching EU integration, and now the issue has been submitted for discussion to parliament. Prime Minister of the Republic Nikol Pashinyan noted that this does not imply Armenia automatically becoming a member of the EU, since a decision on this matter can only be made through a referendum.