The leadership of the European Union (EU) will at some point demand full political solidarity from Armenia, including with Brussels' anti-Russian course, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian foreign ministry’s department of European affairs, told TASS in an interview.

“At a certain point, Brussels begins to demand full solidarity from any candidate country with its foreign policy, which is now openly anti-Russian,” the Russian diplomat said, as he commented on Armenia's European integration plans. “I also hope that Yerevan understands that even meeting all of Brussels' requirements does not guarantee EU membership.”

Maslennikov cited as an example the Western Balkans, “which have been in the ‘EU membership queue” for decades (Albania since 2000, North Macedonia since 2004, Montenegro since 2008, and Serbia since 2009), fulfilling the strict requirements of European bureaucrats, often not very popular with the population, but still not coming close to fulfilling their “Euro-dream.”

“We should also not forget that in reality, EU membership, especially given its current state, in no way guarantees the prosperity of the candidate countries. In the Baltic states, which recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their membership in the European Union, the economic indicators and demographic situation are insignificant, to put it mildly,” the Russian MFA official said.