Armenia has officially responded to Russia’s letter by which Moscow warned about the possibility of revising the Armenian-Russian gas agreements in the context of Armenia’s European integration process. However, the contents of the correspondence and possible new agreements with the Russian side are not published.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures informed journalists about this on November 9 Davit Khudatyan։

“We have responded to that letter in the prescribed manner,” the minister stated, confirming that it is about the letter received from the Russian side before the parliamentary elections in Armenia. Khudatyan refused to detail the content of the answer or clarify whether Russia’s possible demands are economic or political in nature.

“Let me refrain from presenting too many work details or content of correspondence with colleagues,” the minister said, while assuring that the current price of gas for consumers has not changed.

“Currently, Armenian consumers receive gas at the same price,” Khudatyan noted, comparing it with the current price in June.

The tension in Armenian-Russian gas relations arose at the end of May, when the Russian Minister of Energy Sergey Tsivilyov in the letter, Moscow warned that if the process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union continues, it may unilaterally suspend or terminate the operation of the intergovernmental agreement of December 2, 2013.

This agreement refers to the supply of natural gas, oil products and rough natural diamonds to Armenia. It provides for a special regime of exemption from customs duties for the export of these Russian goods.

The fact of receiving the letter was confirmed by the Armenian side on May 27, but the content of its official reply was not published until now.

At the same time, in the report prepared by the representatives of the four EAEU member states – Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – published in October, the economic consequences of the possible termination of Armenia’s membership in the union were assessed. According to the authors’ calculations, in that scenario, the price of Russian gas imported to Armenia may increase by around 69 percent, from $177.5 to $300 per 1,000 cubic meters.

That estimate, however, is a calculation of a conditional scenario and does not mean that a decision has already been made to raise the price of gas. In addition, the price of imported gas is not the same as the final tariff set for the population.

Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission on November 6 Mesrop Mesropyan announced that the commission did not receive an official request for gas tariff revision either from “Gazprom” or “Gazprom Armenia”. According to his assessment, in the absence of emergency circumstances, gas price increases for the population are not expected at least until March 2027.

On November 9, Khudatyan also did not clarify what negotiations are going on before the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027. The minister noted that setting the gas tariff is not within the competence of his department, and he does not have enough information to give an exhaustive answer to that question.