Armenia has slammed what it calls ‘ignorant sources’ after Russian state media reported that Pakistan intended to recognise Armenia as a UN member state in exchange for receiving a ‘green light’ to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
‘Pakistan really plans to do this, and as a reciprocal step to obtain consensus on the issue of joining the EAEU’, an unnamed source told TASS.
The article, published early Tuesday morning, also cited another unnamed source as saying that the recognition could take ‘from several weeks to several months’, but in any case was a ‘foreseeable prospect’ as the initialled peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan ‘left no obstacles in this matter’.
Later on Tuesday, the Armenian Foreign Ministry slammed the report, noting that Armenia and Pakistan had already established diplomatic relations ‘in line with the fundamental principles of the UN Charter’.
‘Therefore, naturally there is no issue of “recognition in the UN” on the agenda. We have already communicated that the two countries, while developing bilateral cooperation, will also discuss issues related to collaboration within multilateral platforms — whether it be the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the EAEU, or other structures of mutual interest’, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan told the Armenian state news agency Armenpress.
Armenia and Pakistan’s position for EAEU and SCO integration
On 31 August, Armenia and Pakistan established diplomatic relations after over 30 years of non-recognition by Pakistan — the last country in the world to not recognise Armenia, having long been an ally of Azerbaijan.
The two countries established diplomatic relations on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin, China. Analysts saw it as a step to pave the way for Armenia joining the SCO with Pakistan being its member state.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
However, unconfirmed reports suggested that India had blocked Azerbaijan’s bid to join the bloc and Pakistan had simultaneously blocked Armenia’s application.
Following the reports, Badalyan issued a vague statement on relations with the SCO, saying, ‘We will not go into the details of the process at this time, but with this understanding, we will continue working with interested SCO member states’.
In turn, Pakistan has appeared to want increased cooperation with the EAEU, a Russian-led organisation for regional economic integration including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan as member states.
In December 2024, TASS reported that Pakistan was ‘negotiating with’ the EAEU ‘on the creation of a free trade zone’.
‘We are still working on it. The work is going well, but it is not yet ready enough for us to disclose it’, Pakistani Energy Minister Awais Leghari told TASS at the time.
TASS cited Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk as having previously said that the parties discussed the possibility of creating a free trade zone.
