LPG Prices In Armenia Surge Again

LPG not only cost more but was also in short supply across the country on Tuesday. Cars formed long lines outside one of the few gas stations in Yerevan’s northern Nor Nork district that had the fuel.

“I’ve checked all stations in the area, it’s is only available here,” one car driver told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

The fuel is delivered to Armenia through the Russian-Georgian border crossing at Upper Lars, which was closed last week due to a snowstorm. Although traffic through the mountainous crossing resumed at the weekend, Georgian authorities reportedly tightened rules for the passage of heavy trucks through sections of the Georgian highway leading to the border.

Local fuel importers told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that hundreds of LPG trucks bound for Armenia remain stuck there. There was also speculation that Russia is deliberately limiting LPG exports to Armenia as part of its retaliatory measures against the Armenian government’s pro-Western foreign policy.

In its first official reaction to the fuel crisis, the government said it is monitoring the situation and ready to prevent “unfounded” price hikes. The Armenian Economy Ministry blamed them on problems at Upper Lars but did not elaborate. It urged motorists to avoid panic buying of LPG, which remains cheaper than petrol.

LPG prices in the country already soared last July amid similar logistical problems reported by Armenian fuel-importing firms. They said at the time that hundreds of their trucks are held up by Georgian authorities for unknown reasons.