Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Armenia must choose between the EU and its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), echoing previous remarks issued by other Russian officials.

Lavrov’s remarks reflect the deepening standoff between the two countries. Armenia pushes towards EU integration, which Russia sees as incompatible with EAEU membership. Pashinyan also wants to restructure the ownership of the Russia-run national railway over concerns about deterring foreign investments. Those two issues together highlight Armenia’s effort to balance its relationship with historical partner Russia while pivoting towards the West.

On Armenia’s EU aspirations, Lavrov said that Pashinyan’s position, that a referendum on EU membership can only be discussed after Armenia submits its application and drafts a ‘road map’, shows that he does not fully ‘trust his own people’ to make an honest choice. Lavrov recalled that in May, EAEU countries called on Armenia to hold a referendum to decide whether to stay with the EAEU or join the EU, which he said is a justified request.

‘The norms of one organisation are incompatible with the norms of the other organisation. This has been said many times’, Lavrov said.

Lavrov argued that Armenia now has to choose between the EU and what it already has, pointing to trade turnover which he said exceeded $6 billion in the past three years and had reached $12 billion in one year. He did not specify whether he meant trade between Armenia and the EAEU or with Russia.

Turning to the railway issue, Lavrov stressed that Russia has done everything for its part to normalise relations with Armenia, and expressed surprise that Armenia discusses the railway concession publicly rather than directly with its partner.

Armenia’s railway system is owned by Russian Railways (RZhD) under a 30-year concession signed in 2008.

Earlier in August, Pashinyan told reporters that Armenia is seeking to negotiate a compromise with Russia over the Russian-run national railway, rather than unilaterally cancelling Russian Railways’ (RZhD) management contract. Pashinyan first called for ending the RZhD’s presence in February, arguing that Russian control discourages investment from international partners. In July, he threatened arbitration and a $2 billion annual bill for RZhD’s management rights, triggering warnings from Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in response, has accused the West of ‘blackmailing’ Armenia over the concession of the railway.

‘They demand the removal of the “Russian factor” from the transport sector, while in return promising multimillion-dollar investments and access to projects whose economic viability is hardly apparent’, the Russian ministry said.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Pashinyan said Armenia expressed its positions on Russia and its security bloc, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), ‘in a transparent, public, and honest manner’.

Armenia’s membership in the CSTO has also been called into question by Russia. Yerevan ‘froze’ its membership in the bloc in early 2024, with Pashinyan on Monday saying resuming Armenia’s membership in the CSTO was not in his government’s five-year plan.

‘I would be very happy if the organisation decided to expel Armenia from the CSTO. It would free us from the dilemma of whether or not to withdraw’, he said at the time.