EU or Eurasia: Why Putin sparred with Armenia’s PM

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has warned Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan that Yerevan’s bid to join the European Union could disrupt trade with Moscow.Relations between the two countries have reached historic lows as Yerevan pivots toward the West, prompting sharp economic and political retaliation from Moscow.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Is Trump wooing Russia again – and why?list 2 of 3Iran and Russia vow to stand against US ‘unilateralism’list 3 of 3Germany says Russia preparing ‘hybrid’ attacks over Ukraine supportend of listIn a tense meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Kyrgyzstan’s capitalon Tuesday, Putin said that Moscow needs clarity on whether Yerevan wants to join the EU in order to decide on the future of bilateral trade with Armenia.Putin also said that Armenia joining the EU would be tantamount to declaring a break from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) – a Russia-led grouping of several post-Soviet states.Last April, Yerevan decided to adopt a law to launch the process of EU accession – a sticking point for Russia which views its neighbouring post-Soviet countries as a vital security shield betwe...