ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Armenia should hold a referendum on EU membership "as soon as possible", President Vladimir Putin and three Russian-allied leaders said in a statement Friday, escalating pressure on Yerevan over its deepening ties with Brussels.

Armenia is formally allied with Moscow, but has been building ties with the European Union for years amid frustration over Russia's perceived failure to protect it during conflicts with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

The Caucasus country froze its security ties with Moscow in 2024, and last year passed a law declaring its intention to seek EU membership, further angering Russia.

Armenia is still a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Russian-led customs union.

Putin said it was time for Armenia to choose between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union, insisting it was "impossible to reconcile the two".

"Prime Minister (Nikol) Pashinyan himself said that he considers it right to hold a referendum on this issue, on where Armenia should position itself: in the Eurasian Union or in the European Union. We would like this to be done as soon as possible," Putin said at a press conference in Kazakhstan, where he was attending a summit.

In a joint statement issued earlier at the summit, Putin and the leaders of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan warned Armenia's moves to join the EU posed "significant risks" to the economy of Eurasian Economic Union member states.

"We share the position on the need to hold a national referendum in the Republic of Armenia as soon as possible on joining the European Union or remaining part of the Eurasian Economic Union," the statement said.

Armenia did not immediately comment on the move.

"Whatever decisions are made, this will not damage our humanitarian ties, it will not damage our political ties," Putin said.

Under Pashinyan, Armenia has formally pursued a strategy of what he calls "diversification", in which the landlocked country pursues ties with both Russia and the West.