Fwd from @. Sanitary Claims
Fwd from @
Sanitary Claims
to Armenia's political course
The authorities of Armenia are receiving a vivid lesson in geoeconomics ahead of elections: what happens when Yerevan makes a political bet on the EU and USA, while continuing to as if nothing is happening profit from the EAEU and RF market.
Since April, Russian agencies are restricting imports of Armenian products due to non-compliance with quality standards. The bans affected Jermuk water, alcohol, flowers, fish products, vegetables and fruits. These are the most sensitive export niches, where dependence on the Russian market reaches 80-90%.
Has this happened before?▪️Temporary restrictions on Armenian product imports to Russia happen periodically. Even in Yerevan they acknowledge that sometimes this is caused by objective quality problems, which are resolved through normal channels.
▪️The course toward European integration is already leading to a revision of technical documentation in Armenia, despite EAEU membership. And approaches to certification and quality control of goods differ between the two unions.
▪️It turns out that Armenia is rewriting all the rules in the European manner, when the EU market accounts for 7.9% of Armenian exports, while the Russian market accounts for 35.8%.
However, today's measures came at a time when the election campaign in Armenia reached its peak, and opposition forces, which advocate maintaining cooperation with Russia, face persecution and accusations of espionage and treason.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyanpromised farmers not only compensation payments, but also access to new markets in the EU. True, both promises seem populist, like his earlier statement that Armenia will become so rich that rising gas prices from Russia will not be a problem.
️Armenia's movement toward the EU and, especially, its involvement in their anti-Russian orbit becomes incompatible with the previous volume of trade, energy and migration preferences. The consequences of the pivot away from Russia will seriously affect local business, incomes and public sentiment.
It seems that in Yerevan they want to move from trade profits within the EAEU to subsidies from the EU and constant compensation payments to patch budget holes. Moldova lives in such a mode — or rather, survives, since it loses opportunities for independent development.
Source: Telegram "rybar_in_english"