Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has challenged the rationale put forward by Yerevan for the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia, saying the move looks more like politically motivated retaliation.
According to TASS, the diplomat was answering reporters’ questions about the situation around Russian economic operators in Armenia when he pointed to the ongoing nationalization process involving Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, owned by businessman Samvel Karapetyan.
Galuzin said Armenia’s ruling team is trying to justify its actions with references to an anti-corruption campaign, the return of allegedly illegally acquired funds to the state treasury and efforts to improve the company’s efficiency. In his view, however, those explanations are highly questionable.
He argued that the process appears to have a different motive. “In reality, this looks more like politically motivated retaliation against one of the rivals in the domestic political arena. Before the businessman entered political life, there had been no complaints about the company’s operations,” the Russian deputy foreign minister said.
Galuzin also commented on the performance of the company’s new management, saying that, as far as can be judged, they have not delivered notable results in running an enterprise that has received hundreds of millions of dollars in investment.
The report also recalls that Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said at a Sept. 17 meeting that Russian businesses in Armenia were facing “raider takeovers,” while Russian Deputy Security Council Secretary Alexei Shevtsov warned that Yerevan could unlawfully appropriate Russian industrial and infrastructure enterprises operating in Armenia.
