European Commission disburses over 30 mln euros to Armenia to support businesses affected by Russia's trade restrictions

YEREVAN. June 19 (Interfax) - The European Commission has disbursed 34 million euros to Armenia to support the country's private sector affected by Russia's trade restrictions.

"The European Commission has disbursed 34 million euros to Armenia to help mitigate the impact of Russia's trade restrictions on the country's private sector. Just two weeks after President von der Leyen's call with Prime Minister Pashinyan, the EU is delivering swiftly on its commitments to support Armenia and its people," the European Union's delegation to Armenia said in a statement.

This financial assistance is the first tranche of a broader package also including trade facilitation and solidarity measures to strengthen Armenia's economic resilience, it said.

"Building on the commitments made at the EU-Armenia Summit last month, the EU and Armenia will continue working together to strengthen business ties and expand market access for Armenian producers. Additional support will be provided to sectors affected by the trade restrictions, including agri-food products, flower production and other export-oriented industries, through trade initiatives, business matchmaking events and targeted market access initiatives," it said.

The EU-Armenia Task Force on Economic Resilience continues to hold regular meetings, it said.

Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan had said earlier that Armenia had an agreement with the European Union for emergency assistance in the amount of 50 million euros, "which we will use when we see that unwarranted obstacles are being created for our exports."

As reported, Russia's plant and animal health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor introduced temporary restrictions on imports of flowers from Armenia starting on May 22, 2026, as well as imports of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, leafy vegetables and strawberries from May 30. Similar restrictions have been imposed on deliveries of Armenian sweet cherries, cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines and grapes since June 2, and imports of pome fruits, eggplants, potatoes and dried fruits have been restricted since June 3. In addition, according to Rosselkhoznadzor, Armenia was supposed to halt certification of live fish and fish products intended for export to Russia starting June 2.

Pashinyan described the ban on imports of certain types of Armenian products into Russia as wrong and politically motivated.