Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has criticized Russia’s widening restrictions on Armenian exports, calling them a “wrong step” that risks turning Armenians against the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as Moscow extended its curbs this week to a growing list of fruits, vegetables, and fish.
Speaking during a campaign event in Gegharkunik on June 2, Pashinyan told a journalist from the Russian newspaper Izvestia that Armenia fully understands the economic benefits of EAEU membership, but said the union should be creating opportunities rather than imposing barriers.
“These economic restrictions are the wrong step because they turn people against the EAEU,” Pashinyan said. “In this case, the EAEU should open new opportunities so that the union’s reputation in Armenia increases, not the opposite.”
The Armenian prime minister said that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day earlier, after Putin called to congratulate him on his birthday.
“We discussed current issues and had a positive conversation,” Pashinyan said. “I think the best step in this context would be to simply abandon all kinds of restrictions.”
The restrictions have widened steadily over the past two weeks. Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, imposed temporary restrictions effective June 2 on Armenian stone fruits, including cherries, sour cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, and nectarines, as well as fresh grapes. From June 3, the agency extended the measures to pome fruits, eggplants, potatoes, and dried fruits.
In both cases the restrictions also apply to the transit of these products through Russian territory to other EAEU member states, and Rosselkhoznadzor said they would remain in place until a mechanism ensuring the safety and traceability of the shipments is established.
The agency separately instructed Armenia to suspend veterinary certification for live fish and fish products to Russia from all but two enterprises that passed inspection. The decision followed audits of Armenian fish-processing plants and trout farms between May 21 and 27, during which Rosselkhoznadzor said about half of the facilities scheduled for inspection refused access.
Rosselkhoznadzor said the measures stemmed from a rising number of phytosanitary violations in Armenian shipments, and tied the problem to an institutional cause: Armenia’s 2019 dissolution of its Ministry of Agriculture and the transfer of its functions to the Ministry of Economy. The agency argued that the Economy Ministry faces structural problems and is unable to fully oversee the country’s agricultural producers.
Pashinyan acknowledged that individual companies may face compliance issues but insisted that Armenia continues to improve the quality of its phytosanitary controls.
“In the case of individual companies, there are problems, and that is the case everywhere, including in Russia,” he said. “But overall, we have a very good control system, and we continue to improve the quality of our agricultural products.”
At the same time, he pledged government assistance to businesses affected by the restrictions. The government will support companies whose products fail to meet quality standards by helping them upgrade production and meet required benchmarks, he said, while those unfairly affected would receive compensation.
“Where there is injustice, we will implement support programs,” Pashinyan said. “For products that were supposed to be exported but were not, we will launch subsidy programs so that there are no victims in our economy.”
He added that several business delegations had already departed for new markets, and that the first batches of roses and vegetables originally destined for Russia had been shipped elsewhere, including to the European Union, with their destinations to be disclosed once they arrive.
The diversification push was detailed further by Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, who said the ministry had submitted a support program to the government to help producers reach EU markets. Papoyan argued that Armenian fruit and vegetable exports are well positioned because many already hold GlobalG.A.P. certification, one of the highest international standards, and are sold in European supermarkets.
The main obstacle, he said, is transportation cost. An Armenian producer may pay several thousand dollars to bring in seedlings and ship the harvest to Europe, plus customs duties of between 8.8 and 14 percent, far above a comparable European producer’s logistics costs.
To close that gap, the government plans to subsidize transportation for exporters, with allocations of up to $5.5 million for flowers and roughly $3.5 million each for tomatoes and peppers through the end of the year, opening markets “from Greece to Germany.” Papoyan said his deputy had met Russian counterparts in Astana, described the atmosphere as positive, and expressed confidence the issues could be resolved quickly after the June 7 parliamentary elections.
Responding to a question about whether Armenia would hold a referendum on leaving the EAEU or joining the EU, Pashinyan reiterated that no such vote is currently planned, describing the EAEU leaders’ recent statement as a “very balanced text” that, in his reading, effectively supports the idea of a referendum on Armenia’s EU accession.
“Until Armenia actually applies to become a full member of the European Union, there is no concrete issue to put before a referendum,” he said. “As long as it has not happened, there will be no referendum. If and when it does, there will be a referendum.” He confirmed that he intends to participate in the next EAEU summit despite the tensions.
His comments came after Putin and the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan called on Armenia to clarify its strategic direction through a referendum on EU or EAEU membership. Russian officials have indicated that suppliers from countries including Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Egypt could replace Armenian produce on the Russian market.
