After a meeting on Thursday with visiting Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan tried to put a positive spin on President Serzh Sargsyan’s recent announcement that Armenia is planning to join a Russian-backed Customs Union.

Minister Nalbandyan said that Armenia wished to continue developing a more comprehensive partnership with the European Union, while at the same time not contradicting Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union.

Commissioner Füle, on the other hand, basically ruled out such a possibility, declaring that there was a problem of compatibility.

“In light of Armenia's declared choice to join the Customs Union it is however difficult to imagine the initialling at Vilnius summit in November of the Association Agreement with Armenia as it had been negotiated. Based on the information we presently have, the compatibility of obligations to the Customs Union with those under an Association Agreement/DCFTA with the EU looks problematic,” Füle stated.

The Commissioner concluded by saying it was in the interest of all to further strengthen “with Armenia what we have jointly achieved over the past years of partnership.”