Life is Not Black and White, There Are Many Risks - Finance Minister

There are numerous risks. We have a lot of different calculations, and some of them are related to these issues. We assess and compute all risks. This was stated by Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan in a conversation with reporters in the National Assembly, responding to a question about whether there is a question of withdrawing from the EEU on Armenia's agenda and whether calculations have been made regarding what will happen if Armenia leaves the EEU, considering our economic ties with Russia.

“We are discussing various scenarios; it is our working practice to assess many different risks, and we have analyses on what will happen in this or that case. But talking about it is pointless and inappropriate; it is our working practice,” he added.

In response to the question of whether it is better to stay in the EEU or leave and move towards the EU or the USA, he answered, “Life is not black and white; there are many circumstances that we need to consider when making any decision. Yes, there will be risks in case of exiting the EEU. This is very obvious; since a large part of our exports goes to the EEU, leaving the EEU will carry its own risks if it happens today. I do not know what steps Russia will take, but there will be different risks depending on the actions taken.”

When asked what Armenia is doing to make its goods more competitive for Europeans, the minister replied, “We are currently preparing a stimulation program, and this will not only relate to the EU. We have been working for two years on the direction of diversifying our exports through various tools. There is also another initiative that we are discussing in the government, which will soon be announced.”

Regarding Russia's sharp reaction when Armenia announces its European integration, the minister said, “There is a very obvious response to this because the relations between Europe and Russia are tense, and any such thing can provoke such a sharp reaction. What has been adopted by the government is that it is possible to think in that direction, meaning to go along the path of EU membership, but we do not know how long this path will take or how it will go. We have long been on this path.”