Survey: 61% of Armenians have favorable opinion of Customs Union

61% of Armenia’s population has a favorable opinion of the Custom Union of the EurAsEC, 4% of citizens are against it, and 26% are indifferent to it. This data wase announced today by the Director of Gallup International Association Armenia Office Aram Navasardian. The organization has conducted a survey at the request of Armenian Development Bank. 13,000 adults from 11 former republics of the USSR were surveyed in April and May of 2012.

In response to the question: If Armenia signs a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union in the near future, what will happen to Karabakh?, one of the event’s speakers, political scientist Sergei Shakariants said: “We will be forbidden to conduct free trade with the NKR. Russia may ignore it, but the same will not work in case of the European Union”.
Another speaker, economist Samvel Avagian did not share his opinion. “The free trade agreement does not prevent us from signing a free trade agreement with a third country, but if we join the Customs Union, we will have no right to discuss conditions of conducting trade with a third party”.

Shakariants disagreed with his opinion, noting that the NKR is a country whose status has not been specified yet and that a problem of separate and agreed talks arises.

The economist said that trade with both the EurAsEC and EU countries is advantageous to Armenia, while the political scientist expressed an opinion that we need to wait, without taking actions regarding the EurAsEC and the EU. He agrred, however, that this situation may last only one year.