While some former Soviet nations are afraid of joining Russia-led customs union, which is voluntary in theory but compulsory in practice, others are out to enter it without being officially invited.
The government of Armenia said it wants to join the customs union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian asked Russia’s President Putin to approve membership in the union. Despite the fact that Armenia borders with no customs union members, Putin agreed to provide maximum assistance to start the ball rolling. It seems like sharing a common border is not the most important thing; it is all about the intent – the rest is just a formality. During a conversation between the leaders of two countries, Russian president said he is ready to allocate 15 billion rubles from Russia’s budget for the the development of railways in Armenia. To compare, Russia’s trade with Armenia came in at about $1 billion in 2012, while its trade with Belarus was $45 billion, with Kazakhstan – about $24 billion. It is worth noting that the government had established a working group on solving this issue in 2010; however, EU politicians advised Erevan to “take a closer look” and move towards EU or the Eurasian Economic Community. The Ukraine membership is questioned since the European Commission repeatedly said this will mean its rejection of European integration. Moscow’s customs union between Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan was established in 2010. Later, Kirgizia and Tadzhikistan expressed their intention to join it.
