Russia’s floundering new Eurasian Economic Union is holding a summit in Astana, Kazhakstan on Thursday and Friday. Armenia, one of the four member states of the EEU, will not participate, and some Armenian media is reporting that the country did not even receive an invite.
Russia’s Putin and Belarusian President Lukashenko will join Kazakh president and host, Nursultan Nazarbaev, at the meeting. Russia’s trade war with the EU over the Ukraine crisis has spilled into Belarus and Kazhakstan, harming their economies and prompting them to pursue better relations with Europe.
While downplaying Armenia’s absence from this week’s summit, Armenian Deputy Foreign Miniser Shavarsh Kocharian told RFE/RL, “These three countries have problems among themselves that they do not hide, and they are trying to overcome their differences.”