The Orenburg Regional Court has begun hearing the state prosecution's appeal in the 6-million-ruble bribe case involving former senator Rauf Arashukov. The prosecution is seeking to increase the fine for the former official, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, from 120 million to 420 million rubles.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk expressed the opinion that Armenia will eventually need to choose between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). According to him, simultaneous participation in both associations is not feasible.
Overchuk noted that the observed transformation of the European Union from an economic entity into a military-political bloc that takes an "aggressive stance toward Russia" should be taken into account by Armenian society when developing its future development strategy.
"Are Armenians ready to join a military-political union that is currently very aggressively disposed toward the Russian Federation? Perhaps Armenians will have to ask themselves this question as well," Overchuk emphasized.
This statement comes amid the upcoming visit of Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan to Russia. He previously stated that Moscow's participation in the South Caucasus TRIPP route is impossible. In addition, the Armenian authorities expressed negative views about the pro-Russian military bloc CSTO, suspending their participation in it.