Armenia not ready yet to be EU member, needs reform to comply with European standards - PM

YEREVAN. June 8 (Interfax) - Armenia is not ready yet to be a member of the European Union, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"We are not ready yet to be an EU member. Our first task is to reform the country and bring it in compliance with EU standards. We cannot be an EU member without that. This means we need to carry on the democratic reforms to a point when everyone admits that Armenia fully complies with EU standards. This is our initial objective," Pashinyan said at a press briefing.

"The EU may make a political decision to discontinue the enlargement process, and the people of Armenia may decide in a referendum they do not want to be an EU member," he said.

"The goal of our government is to create real alternatives for Armenia so that its citizens could choose, in particular, between the EAEU and the EU," Pashinyan said.

He added that he had had unofficial talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.