President of Belarus reveals details regarding EAEU statement on Armenia's position

A statement regarding Armenia was signed at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in Astana. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced this following the EAEU summit, BELTA reports.

One of the questions to the Belarusian leader concerned Armenia's position, which, according to the country's leadership, would like to remain in the EAEU and join the European Union.

Alexander Lukashenko said that this topic was discussed at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in a closed format, and a corresponding statement was signed. "We have all stated: we do not want Armenia to leave our Eurasian Union. At the same time—this is what Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin – BelTA) stated in his speech—we respect Armenia's choice. I immediately added: we respect the choice of the Armenian people. If the people make such a decision and agree to leave the union they are part of and join the European Union at some point, we cannot oppose the will of the Armenian people," the Belarusian President elaborated.

"And then we added in this statement that we support the desire of the Armenian leadership, which has declared this, to hold a referendum on this issue," he continued.

And such a referendum must be organized fairly, openly, and democratically, the Belarusian leader emphasized. If all this is so and the Armenian people vote against the EAEU, this decision will be accepted within the Eurasian Economic Union, Alexander Lukashenko noted.

"But the Armenian leadership, and especially the people of Armenia, must understand what they are gaining and what they are losing. The Russian President promised to report this in detail to the entire international community, whoever wants to hear it," the Belarusian leader said. "He will explain again in detail (Russian specialists prepared this information for him) what it means to abandon the Eurasian Union, which Armenia currently belongs to, and join the European Union."

Alexander Lukashenko noted that the examples of a number of countries show that the timeframe for EU accession can be very drawn out. And the Armenian people should also consider this factor when making this important decision. "Considering Ukraine, which has long wanted to join, and even more importantly, considering Turkey, which, in my opinion, has been waiting for 25 or 30 years to join the European Union," the Belarusian President noted.