Due to the growth of bilateral trade between Armenia and russia, Western partners are thinking about Yerevan's approach to sanctions. UNN writes about this with reference to Euractiv.
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It is noted that after the imposition of anti-russian sanctions in 2022, Armenia's exports to russia tripled and then doubled between January and August 2023. This gives reason to doubt Armenia's compliance with the Western sanctions regime.
The publication reminds that after Armenia joined the russian-led Eurasian Economic Union in 2014, russia became Armenia's number one trading partner. russia's share of Armenia's foreign exports has increased even more since the invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, trade with russia accounted for more than 35% of the country's foreign trade, while the EU accounted for 13% of the total. This dependence of Armenia's economy on trade with russia has made it virtually impossible for the country to join sanctions against moscow without risking an unprecedented economic decline.
There are fears in Armenia that the Kremlin could use Armenia's economic dependence as political leverage: recent opinion polls conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) showed that 40% of Armenians consider russia to be the most significant political threat to their country, after Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, in recent months, russia has blocked imports of Armenian products several times at its land border crossing with Georgia.