Today, in a Facebook post, former Armenian Prime Minister and current MP Hrant Bagratyan lashed out at the premise put forth by the government that the country has no future without the Russian-led Customs Union.

“Up till September 3, 2013 we are the road of integration with Europe. The government was declaring that the Customs Union model was impossible. Then we did a 180 degree reversal,” writes Bagratyan, asking what was the cause of this turnabout.

“Now the prime minister and ministers have adopted an approach that says we have no choice. So, we are making a selection that lies between bad and worst. Let’s not make any choice if this is the case,” Bagratyan continues.

He then ridicules the explanation given by the economy minister to reporters stating that by entering the Customs Union inflation will rise by 1.5% but that it won’t be so bad after all. “What kind of response is this?” exclaims Bagratyan.

“Listen; there are some 400 experts at the ministry. Couldn’t they have found one macro-economist and an assistant to seriously delve into the membership issue and to provide acceptable appraisals?” writes Bagratyan.

The MP concludes by rhetorically asking if a group of individuals with no specialist knowledge can be given the task of drafting a road map for Armenia’s admittance to the Customs Union.

“There is nothing in the road map regarding what expectations the business sector in Armenia should have from the Customs Union. These individuals have merely done a copy-paste job of the Russian legislation,” writes Bagratyan.