Granting observer status in EAEU to Azerbaijan requires consensus – MFA spokesman

As of now, there is no application by any country to get a status of an observer in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Armenpress, commenting on the discussions according to which Azerbaijan may get a status of an observer in the EAEU.

“The procedure of granting a status of an observer in the Eurasian Economic Union is defined by Article 109th of the 2014, May 29 treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. Granting a status of an observer to any country requires a consensus decision, before the adoption of which consultations are taking place within the Union, also aimed at finding out the economic appropriateness of that particular step. At this moment, there is no application by any country of getting an observer status in the EAEU”, the MFA spokesperson said.

During the recent meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on December 10, the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is also the honorary chair of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, has announced that Azerbaijan may become an observer in the EAEU.

At a press briefing on December 15, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova positively assessed Nazarbayev’s proposal, stating that the cooperation of Azerbaijan and EAEU would contribute to boosting mutual trade and implementing large-scale infrastructure programs.

The Eurasian Economic Union has five member states – Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Moldova, Uzbekistan and Cuba have a status of an observer in the Union.