According to the Prime Minister of Armenia, after negotiations with the President of Russia, Yerevan and Moscow have agreed to work on selling the concession of the Armenian railway, which is under Russian management, to a third country. However, Nikol Pashinyan does not directly state whether this means that the Russian side, which has rejected this agenda for months, has finally agreed to relinquish control of the railway.
“There is an understanding in both Armenia and Russia that one of the options for solving the problem is to sell the concession rights to a third party that is acceptable to both Armenia and Russia. I believe this is the best solution; the other options do not seem realistic to me,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Two days ago, during the open part of the Pashinyan-Putin meeting in Bishkek, there was no mention of the Armenian railway, which has been under Russian control for 30 years; the head of government stated today that the issue was discussed in a closed format.
Completely different comments regarding the transfer of management rights of the railway to another country came from Moscow. After the meeting of the two leaders, Vice Prime Minister Ovechuk again emphasized that Russia sees no reason to transfer the concession rights for the operation of the Armenian railway to anyone.
“Russian Railways” operates in Armenia in accordance with the terms of the agreement and is ready to participate in the development of the country's infrastructure,” Ovechuk stated.
In Pashinyan's opinion, the statements made by the Russian Vice Prime Minister do not reflect the atmosphere in which the discussions took place.
The Armenian side explains the proposal to transfer the management of the railway to a friendly third country by the factor of Russia's hostile relations with the West.
Earlier, Moscow stated that if Armenia terminates its concession agreement with its subsidiary, “South Caucasian Railway,” it will have to return all investments made by the Russian company from 2008 to the present.
