The head of the government of Armenia, which after 2022 became the fourth largest exporter to the russian federation of semiconductors and other dual-use goods for the needs of war, called the Ukrainian people "friendly" in his speech.
But is it so?
Yerevan strongly creates the impression of reorientation towards the West. However, during the two years of the war between the russian federation and Ukraine, it served as one of the Kremlin's main logistical hubs for circumventing sanctions. In 2022, the GDP of tiny Armenia, with a population of 3 million, grew by an unprecedented 14.2%.
The Deputy Minister of Finance of Armenia, Vahan Sirunyan, admitted that in the first nine months of 2023, the export of goods from Armenia to the russian federation increased by 85%, of which 80% is re-export. Emphasizing the exponential growth of Armenia's foreign trade turnover after the start of the war in Ukraine by 69%, the analytical center Jamestown Foundation (United States) also warned about the re-export of sanctioned goods from Armenia to the russian federation. And the director of the Department of Sanctions Coordination of the U.S. Department of State, Jim O'Brien, stated directly that Washington considers Armenia to be one of the countries that help the russian federation to circumvent sanctions.
In 2024, the problem continues to be talked about, but this does not prevent Armenia from supplying sanctioned goods to its belligerent neighbor with impunity. Robin Brooks, director of the Institute of International Finance and former Goldman Sachs strategist, published detailed data: "Armenia's exports to the russian federation increased by 430% compared to the period before the invasion, which means re-exports of EU and Chinese goods to russia."
Armenia is important as a transit hub because Putin can no longer rely on almost anyone else in this matter, except for it. In May last year, France's Forbes called Armenia "a major channel for sanctions evasion" as restrictions on supplies through Turkiye and Central Asia tightened. In the summer of 2022, Ankara promised the United States not to allow the circumvention of sanctions against the russian federation on the territory of Turkiye. Subsequently, Turkish financial organizations began to cease cooperation with russian ones en masse.
Ironically, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the allocation of USD 15 million to Yerevan. The statement emphasizes that these funds are aimed at "reducing Armenia's economic dependence on the russian federation."