“Not a single luma of goods was exported from Armenia to Azerbaijan.” opposition MP

Artur Khachatryan, a deputy of the opposition “Hayastan” faction, severely criticized the policy of the authorities during the briefing. He accused the government of unilateral concessions to Azerbaijan, failure of diversification of the economy, as well as creating a political crisis with the Russian Federation, which affects local producers.

During a meeting with journalists Artur Khachatryan thoroughly addressed the issue of regional de-blockade. According to him, the real lifting of the blockade requires the political will of all parties, including the commitment of Azerbaijan and Turkey to operate the Ijevan-Gazakh, Yeraskh-Sadarak and Akhurik-Kars routes. However, according to the deputy, only Armenia has taken written commitments.

He described the idea of ​​”mutual advantage” as an illusion, noting that Yerevan is taking the risk of providing unhindered transit to Baku, receiving only limited import opportunities in return. Khachatryan emphasized that practically no Armenian products have been exported through the territory of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the opposition figure accused the authorities of trying to fulfill Baku’s demand to exclude contacts between Azerbaijanis and Armenian border guards, calling the use of “robots” and comparisons with the UAE an open lie.

A significant part of the briefing was devoted to the existing economic problems within the EAEU, in particular, the ban on the import of Armenian fish products from the Russian Federation. The deputy noted that the ban has a political motive related to Armenia’s rapprochement with the EU and the current tension in relations with Moscow.

At the same time, Khachatryan criticized the reaction of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who, instead of solving the issue diplomatically, publicly announced the poor quality of Armenian fish. According to Khachatryan, such statements endanger the prospects of exports to third countries.

Turning to the economy, the parliamentarian noted the failure of the diversification policy. He stated that the economic growth was artificial and was based solely on the re-export of Russian gold to the UAE, and with the stoppage of that scheme, the economy entered a crisis.

Khachatryan warned that for the sake of short-term dividends, sharp foreign policy turns lead the country to an economic disaster, which is clearly evidenced by the need to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in new loans for the purpose of budgetary support. The MP called on the government to stop making impulsive decisions, to clearly calculate the benefits expected from EAEU and the EU, and to build pragmatic relations with partners.

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