View from Yerevan: Ukraine and its two regions are like a suitcase without a handle

The way they are today Ukraine and its two regions, Donetsk and Luhanks, are like a suitcase without a handle, Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan said during a roundtable discussion on the Ukrainian crisis on Thursday.

He said that even though the Ukrainians have signed the Association Agreement and the DCFTA with the EU, they will not be able to meet all ensuring obligations as the Kremlin will apply all of its political and economic capacities to them.  

"The Russians acted in the same way with respect to Armenia when it was hesitating between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.  In fact, the decision to join the latter was made by Vladimir Putin rather than Serzh Sargsyan as Armenia had no more room for maneuver.  Had the Armenians not agreed to join the Eurasian Economic Union, the Russians would have started selling more arms to Azerbaijan and would charge as much as $500 for their gas," Iskandaryan said.