RA NA speaker presents Armenia`s stance on EAEU, CSTO membership,  sensitive issues at meeting with Russian FM 

ArmInfo.  During an official visit to Moscow, Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presenting Yerevan's  positions on membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the  Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as well as sensitive  issues in bilateral relations.

At the opening of the talks, Simonyan stated that Armenia is  interested in ties with Russia, and there is no other understanding  in Armenia. "At the same time, for obvious reasons, we have been  trying to resolve the situation in our region since the first days  after the end of the war, and, in my opinion, we have succeeded quite  well. We have come quite far, in a good way, with Azerbaijan, and we  are already planning to sign a real peace treaty, which is very  important for our future," the speaker of the Armenian parliament  said.

At the same time, he emphasized that he does not want Russia to  perceive that Armenia is attempting to do anything against Russia,  against a friendly allied state. "Despite the fact that there are  issues that need to be discussed, and I understand this, and you and  your colleague Ararat Samvelovich are discussing all of this, and the  leaders of our countries are doing so quite successfully, I want to  assure you that we do not have this perception of 'with us or against  us'-we do not and will not. We believe this is wrong, it is wrong for  Armenia and for everything we already have and have," Simonyan added.

At the same time, the head of the Armenian government acknowledged  that Yerevan is, of course, concerned by the rhetoric often heard in  the public sphere. According to him, this concerns not only the  Armenian authorities but also Armenian society. "I shared my  understanding with the ambassador. Let's say there are politicians  today, and tomorrow they will be replaced by others, but Armenian  society reacts very negatively to the statements coming from Moscow.  They react this way because Moscow is important, opinions are  important, and the understanding that Moscow is an ally has always  been and remains, so it is very painful to hear such statements," he  said. Regarding the Armenian government's position on the CSTO,  Simonyan stated that Moscow is aware of it: Yerevan has questions  that remain unanswered. He added that these questions have been  raised many times, and he will not repeat them.

As for membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, Simonyan said that  the Armenian government does not believe it should withdraw. "We  believe we can work together to find a solution that will be  beneficial to both sides," the speaker of the Armenian parliament  concluded.