Putin's statement on Armenia’s GDP growth sophistical - economist

Tert.am has interviewed Ashot Yeghiazaryan, a doctor of economy, over the outcomes of Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and other economic developments.

Mr Yeghiazaryan, what has been the situation across the EEU common space over the past two years since the Union came into existence? 

The EEU has seen a significant decline over the period, reducing both the output and the trade overturn, which remains on a very low level among the member states. No mutually agreed decisions have been made with respect to either customs or tax procedures. The customs- and trade-related activities are carried out individually, with the member states not having reached a common ground. Missing the chance of the [EU] Association Agreement, Armenia gave preference to the EEU, whereas Georgia, for instance, chose a different path, which secures both development and a sustainable GDP growth.

To what extent would the choice matter given that accession to the Association Agreement would offer us completely different opportunities?

That, actually, is very important as every economic bloc has rules of its own. Armenia, as an EEU member, will naturally incur the influence of the rules functioning within that union. Meantime, it is important to note that the EEU is a highly politicized structure; it is a political project in which Russia dictates its own rules, using pressure to keep the countries under its influence. In that way, Russia restricts those countries’ sovereignty, whereas without sovereignty, an independent decision-making or economic growth is practically impossible. It is common knowledge that Armenia’s interests within the Union prevent it from building relations with Iran, which no longer faces sanctions.  

To change the rules of the game, it is important to be part of an economic bloc securing an effective development.

At the recent presidential meeting [with Serzh Sargsyan, Russian President] Vladimir Putin pointed to a 10% GDP growth. What did Putin’s statement suggest given that GDP results for 2014 and 2015 are less than 10% put together?  

That’s sophisticism if not an erroneous statement. It had a political pretext suggesting that Armenia’s decision to join the EEU was right notwithstanding the heavy price paid. What Putin wanted to say was that Armenia benefited [from the EEU membership] despite the economic decline in Russia.

The EEU has other member states apart from Russia. So what are the relations built or changes observed between Armenia and those countries?

The problem is that those countries do not pursue coordinated policies; they do manage to even adopt common tax and customs procedures, let alone a coordinated economic policy or a single currency. Absolutely no progress in the integration, as we still observe the same factors which came into play after the USSR’s collapse.