Armenia has been ready for any scenario of the development of events for a long time, but the technical problems emerging in the Armenian-Russian trade and economic relations should not be politicized. As for the supply of Russian gas, it is regulated by long-term contracts. This was announced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, responding to the questions about the obstacles to the export of Armenian products (in particular, brandy and flowers) and the possible increase in the price of gas.

During the briefing following the April 9 cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister refused to comment on hypothetical scenarios regarding the intensification of economic pressures, stating that one should be guided by the facts. According to Pashinyan, the problems related to export are mostly technical and refer to product quality and standards.

He reminded that since 2018, the government has been talking about the need to modernize the economy and standardize products, for which the state has allocated millions of dollars to businesses.

“We support and will continue to support economic operators in modernization, but we also do not agree that an attempt is made to present technical issues under a political umbrella,” Pashinyan emphasized. He also added that there are clear rules for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor in the Eurasian Economic Union, and as a member of the Higher Economic and Intergovernmental Councils of the Eurasian Economic Union, he will be consistent in their smooth operation.

Referring to the risks of the possible price increase of Russian gas and the termination of contracts, the head of the government emphasized that Yerevan and Moscow have long-term contracts, and there is no basis for such assumptions.

“We cannot relate to Russia or any other country with the logic that one of the parties thinks that the other will violate all its agreements. That would mean that the violating party is not a contractual entity at all. How can such a thing happen?” concluded the RA Prime Minister.

Why did the gas price issue arise?

Discussions about the possible increase in gas tariffs intensified after the Pashinyan-Putin meeting held in Moscow on April 1. During the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin specially emphasized that Russia supplies gas to Armenia at preferential prices. According to him, when the price of 1000 cubic meters of gas in Europe exceeds 600 dollars, Armenia receives it for 177.5 dollars. The Russian President also noted that he is familiar with the approaches of the Armenian side regarding pricing mechanisms, over which the parties often “debate”. 

Let us also add that Russia, represented by Gazprom, is the de facto monopolist supplying natural gas to Armenia. According to the data of 2024, Armenia imported a total of about 2.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas, the vast majority of which, about 2.3 billion cubic meters (or about 84% of the total volume), fell to Russia. The rest is imported from Iran, providing only 16% of the country’s domestic demand (mainly through the “gas for electricity” barter program).

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