Non-aligned thinking: the EAEU finds new partners in foreign markets

The Eurasian Economic Union sees a growing interest from the SCO and ASEAN countries in creating barrier-free trade. In addition, the EAEU is actively negotiating the creation of a free trade area with India and Tunisia. This was stated by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. An important priority for Moscow remains the expansion of ties within the "five". But this process is not easy because of Armenia's position, which was addressed by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. But whether Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan saw his parting words is an open question, since he did not personally reach Minsk. Instead, representatives of Iran and Cuba arrived, who used the local podium to criticize the United States.

Pashinyan connected via video link

On the second day of his working visit to Minsk, Mikhail Mishustin took part in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (ENIC). This body, where the heads of government of the EAEU countries gather, serves as the main working engine of integration. It is at the level of prime ministers that global political plans are translated into the language of the real economy.

The last time they met was relatively recently, in August in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan. Such a high frequency of contacts is explained simply: economic pressure from outside leaves no time for long reflection, and the dynamics of Eurasian projects require constant manual adjustment.

The premieres were gathered at the Waldorf Astoria Minsk, a new hotel in the capital that is ideal for international meetings. At the same time, the site itself was not very saturated with the Eurasian spirit. For example, instead of draniki, journalists were offered a snack at the mobile Mak restaurant.by, created on the basis of the American giant after his departure from the country. It is obvious that the consequences of globalization are stronger than any sanctions.

Meanwhile, the EAEU itself has enough internal difficulties without any Western restrictions. Thus, representatives of not all member states arrived in Minsk - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan joined the meeting only via video link, and there was just one empty seat at the table with a sign saying "free microphone".

However, such a step by Yerevan did not come as a surprise, since the diplomatic conflict between Armenia and Belarus has not yet been resolved. Its open phase began after Alexander Lukashenko publicly expressed his support for Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue back in 2024. In response, Nikol Pashinyan stated that not a single Armenian official, including himself, would come to Belarus as long as the current president of the republic remained in power.

But the matter is not limited only to Pashinyan's personal boycott of Minsk — Armenia as a whole has taken a steady drift towards the European Union. Yerevan has frozen its participation in the CSTO defense bloc and has recently managed to adopt a law on the start of the EU accession process. The leaders of the other EAEU countries have already explicitly called on Armenia to hold a referendum in order to definitively choose between the European path and Eurasian integration, since it is impossible to sit on two chairs and combine the EU and EAEU markets.

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, who was the first to speak as chairman of the meeting in a narrow format, did not touch on this topic at all. He only outlined the main areas of work — the EAEU's foreign trade and the transport connectivity of the states. At the same time, the meeting in a narrow format had to be interrupted for some time, as the heads of the delegations went to meet with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was more direct on the issue of Armenia's rapprochement with the EU.

— Well, if you decided to join the European Union, well, where are you in a hurry? You clearly define where your cognac will be taken, where your vegetables and fruits will be taken. To what extent. Will you be able to replace what you are selling here today? If you are convinced that France will buy your cognac from you (there is nowhere to put its own, but it will buy from you), well, go. What are you running for? Why are you putting the cart in front of the horse? — said the Belarusian president.

Alexander Lukashenko's message was clear: integration can have its own smooth and sharp corners, but it is important to preserve what was inherited from previous generations.

"It's a philosophical question: think about what I said, don't throw away what benefits you today," he added.

But neither Pashinyan nor other representatives of Armenia, to whom these words were primarily addressed, were at this meeting.

What do the parties want to achieve

Nevertheless, Nikol Pashinyan had the opportunity to respond at the expanded meeting. During his speech, he avoided the issue of rapprochement with the EU, confirming only his interest in cooperation within the framework of the EAEU. At the same time, the Armenian Prime Minister pointed to the remaining restrictions and barriers that make it difficult to supply national products to the Union market. Obviously, this was an allusion to the Russian restrictions, which have not yet been lifted. However, the Russian-Armenian theme was not continued. Neither Mikhail Mishustin nor Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, who summed up the results, did not delve into this issue.

During his speech, the Russian Prime minister called the deepening of allied ties with all the states of the "five" an absolute priority, reinforcing this thesis with figures. According to him, the aggregate gross domestic product of the EAEU countries has grown by more than 1% since the beginning of the year. And the indicators of mutual trade between the countries of the association have increased by 10% since the beginning of the year compared to the same values in 2025.

The Eurasian Union currently faces several important challenges. Financing of joint industrial projects should be clearly established. As Mikhail Mishustin noted, a supranational mechanism has now been launched to support common initiatives in this area — from the union budget. At the same time, the possibility of such financing will extend to enterprises of the agro-industrial complex.

Other important areas include the formation of transport infrastructure and a common electricity market, and ensuring food security. The countries are striving to create a "seamless" digital logistics system so that customs procedures at the internal borders of the union become completely invisible to business.

According to Alexander Korolev, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics, Eurasian integration will reach a new level thanks to the launch of joint high-tech industries, full digitalization and the development of financial infrastructure. The necessary steps include the integration of payment systems, the creation of a single exchange space and the use of direct banking accounts. According to the expert, the Union also needs to strengthen financial self-sufficiency through settlements in national currencies, which currently account for about 95%. This opens up the prospect of almost complete abandonment of the dollar and the euro in favor of trading primarily in rubles.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Mishustin drew attention to the importance of preparing new free trade agreements with potential partners of the Five. The agreement with the UAE will enter into force on October 6. Negotiations are currently underway with India and Tunisia.

"In the context of trade wars, there is a growing interest on the part of the SCO and ASEAN states in establishing stable and predictable conditions for cooperation with the union," the Russian Prime Minister noted. — There are good prospects for developing cooperation with African countries.

We should not forget about the potential expansion of the EAEU ranks. Uzbekistan is among the most promising candidates, Vladimir Shapovalov, Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University, believes. By the way, the Prime Minister of this republic, Abdulla Aripov, attended the meeting in an expanded format, as well as representatives of two other observer countries— Cuba and Iran.

The invited observer states from abroad took advantage of the high rostrum of the union to not only talk about integration, but also harshly criticize Washington for its aggressive foreign policy. As a result, an extremely ambivalent picture emerged: while Pashinyan, who spoke online, praised the Trump logistics Route promoted by the United States, which should open up new transport opportunities in the region, the Iranian representative recalled the murders of children during the American bombing of a school in Minaba, and the Cuban delegate spoke about the merciless economic war that the White House has been waging against Havana for decades.

But that's exactly what such international platforms are for, so that even with radically different interests and geopolitical views, they can find a common language and persistently seek common ground. In the context of global turbulence, this is especially important, especially since the EAEU already has a solid foundation on which to move forward.