The political process... something... they always escalate during campaigns to show that Russia... our relations with Russia, we have talked about this many times. The special relationship between Russia and Armenia has developed not over decades, but over centuries. We are united by a common history and the solution of common tasks of the Soviet era. We are united by... it is very important to say that we always support what is happening. Such an analysis... you can rather... as for the economy, it is called good. Last year, it was 11 billion, and the year before last, 6.4. I want to draw attention that neighbors have less. Four, after all, it is very cool. And of these 6.4, 2 billion dollars are agricultural products. These are vegetables, fruits, wine, everything that Armenia produces. In this regard, of course, some things are important for us, for example, energy, and agriculture, which I have already named.
We see that in Armenia there is a discussion about developing relations with the European Union. We treat this absolutely calmly. We understand that any country seeks maximum benefits from cooperation with third countries. But it must be obvious, it must be honest. It should be said in advance, as they say, on the shore, that being in a customs union with the European Union and with the Eurasian Economic Union is impossible. It is simply impossible by definition. And the question is not even political, but purely economic. Because some things require a lot of joint work that must be carried out for years. This is the difference in the assessment of individual commodity groups, market access for these commodity groups. This is phytosanitary supervision for agricultural products. We have absolutely different, very different requirements in Russia and in the European Union countries on phytosanitary issues. There are many other problems that make it, at this moment in time... maybe years will pass, and we, the EAEU and the EU, I hope that will be the case, after all, we live on one continent, we will be able to regulate. But when, before the Ukrainian crisis, we tried to agree with the Europeans on working together, nothing was achieved. They take a very tough position, practically on every, as it seemed to me then, even minor issue.
Now, regarding energy. I hope the situation will improve here too. But as of today, you know, prices for energy carriers, for gas, say, in Europe are skyrocketing, over 600 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, while Russia sells gas to Armenia for 177.5 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters. The difference is big, the difference is significant. We also argue about this quite often. I know that you insist on some other methods of determining the price for energy carriers. But this is still a different order: 600 and 177.5.
Now, if we look at what is happening with Armenia's economy, I don't know, it seems to me, you also assess that Armenia's exports to EU countries have grown 10 times in recent years. 10 times. I repeat, this is your decision in the end, the decision of your team, your experts, where and with whom, on what basis to work. Now, questions related to security. Of course, the most sensitive issue, we understand this. We often talk about this. It is everything related to Karabakh. We have talked about this many times.
We know that both you and your colleagues had and still have questions and some claims to the Collective Security Treaty Organization. We constantly returned to this. But I think it is also obvious that after you recognized in Prague in 2022 that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, it was simply incorrect for the CSTO to interfere in this process, which acquired an internal Azerbaijani dimension. The question of the reunification of Karabakh, if we consider it part of Azerbaijan. I am not evaluating whether this is good or bad from the point of view of organizing a peaceful life. I think there was probably meaning in this. And, by the way, today, thanks to your efforts and the efforts of the President of Azerbaijan, it seems to me, we have managed to stabilize relations, and the President of the United States took an active part in this. And transport routes are being unfrozen, in my opinion, and so on. And here we just need to find further ways to strengthen relations. But it seems to me that we should also put a point here. And it would be better if this were not part of the internal political process, especially during the election campaign.
And finally, we have many friends in Armenia. Very many. We know this. Many Armenians live in the Russian Federation. Well, you can count it differently. We count over 2 million people. According to our statistical data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and many political forces are pro-Russian. Of course, I will tell you quite frankly, we have such a dialogue that we always talk honestly and directly. We would very much like all these political parties to be able to participate in this internal political work during the elections. Some, I know, are in places of detention, despite the fact that they have a Russian passport. This is your decision, we do not interfere, but we would like them all to be able to participate in this internal political work.
And I want to say once again that whatever happens, we in Russia will always be guided by what is beneficial for the Armenian people themselves. I have always told you this. I want to emphasize this once again. And I want to express hope that no matter how the elections in Armenia end, our common mood for the construction and strengthening of Russian-Armenian relations will continue.
