YEREVAN, September 25. /TASS/. Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the opposition Strong Armenia party and businessman, believes that nobody is waiting for Armenia in the European Union and that the country’s steps toward EU membership are aimed at worsening relations with Russia.

"The political course toward Europe — nobody is waiting for us there. There is not a single country in Europe that does not border the European Union and has nevertheless become an EU member. So these are some incomprehensible steps toward worsening relations with Russia," he told reporters.

At the same time, the politician gave no clear answer as to whether the law launching the EU accession process should be repealed. "Let us see what hardships it will bring to our people, and then I will express my opinion," Samvel Karapetyan said.

On March 26, 2025, the Armenian parliament passed a law initiating the process of the republic’s accession to the EU. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously noted that EU integration would automatically terminate Armenia’s cooperation with the EAEU and lead to the loss of all associated preferences. At the EAEU summit in Astana on May 29, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan issued a joint statement backing a nationwide referendum in Armenia on whether to join the EU or remain in the EAEU.

On August 11, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS that Armenia needed to hold a nationwide referendum before December of this year, when potential steps regarding Yerevan will be discussed at a meeting of EAEU heads of state.

On August 24, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, told TASS that Yerevan would never become an EU member but would instead severely damage its long-term relations with the EAEU and Moscow.