Russia has restricted the sale of Armenian products in Russian major online retailers Wildberries and Ozon, citing new customs requirements and demanding additional documents from sellers. Yerevan claimed that two Armenian opposition parties ‘are behind’ the developments related to Wildberries.
The news about the restrictions was shared on 1 May.
‘Due to changes in customs clearance procedures for goods imported into Russia, there have been temporary difficulties with deliveries from Armenia’, the Head of Ozon in Armenia, Hayk Karapetyan wrote in a Facebook post.
Karapetyan further stated that in order to prevent customers from cancelling orders due to delays in delivery, ‘we have temporarily hidden product listings for these products from customers in Russia’.
At the same time, he noted that all products from Armenian entrepreneurs ‘located in Ozon warehouses in Russia are being sold without restrictions’, while no restrictions were applied to the sale within Armenia from the local sellers.
Separately, a similar statement was released by Wildberries, with the latter noting the changes to customs clearance regulations were applied on 20 April.
‘The company is in constant dialogue with partners and relevant structures and is closely monitoring the development of the situation’, the statement read.
Wildberries further noted that as part of these activities, they held a meeting with Armenian sellers, attended by more than 50 entrepreneurs, discussing ‘emerging issues’. The company expressed hopes of ‘a phased settlement of the situation’.
Shortly after the news broke, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan blamed two unnamed opposition parties for the situation, suggesting that their supporters were ‘especially happy and delighted with the problem’.
‘You reached this point today by spending months filing complaints against Armenia with officials of other countries; we will resolve this matter soon’, Papoyan claimed, adding that those people ‘have no place in Armenia’s political life’.
On the same day, Narek Karapetyan, nephew of Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, was asked to comment on the potential impact. In their questions, journalists cited some as suggesting the possibility of ‘intensified sanctions’ against Armenia against the backdrop of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s visit to Armenia to attend the 8th European Political Community (EPC) Summit, hosted in Yerevan on Monday.
While in Yerevan, Zelenskyi had a one-on-one talk with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
‘The current government must take responsibility for its geopolitical and foreign policy manoeuvres, as each step can carry consequences. We hope these consequences will not be negative for our economy’, Narek Karapetyan said.
He further added that there was a risk that Zelenskyi’s visit could further ‘complicate relations’ with Russia.
Earlier in April, Samvel Karapetyan claimed there would be an ‘economic war’ with Russia in July if Pashinyan remained in power. The warning appeared to be a response to what has become a regular talking point by Pashinyan — that a victory by the opposition in the upcoming parliamentary election would lead to war with Azerbaijan in September.
Public opinion surveys suggest Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance of Parties is expected to be the main challenger to Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on 7 June.
Again, on 1 May, Papoyan further claimed there was no political context in Russia’s recent banning of around 1.4 million Jermuk mineral water bottles over alleged regulatory violations.
The two rounds of ban affecting Jermuk followed the recent reopening of an investigation against the company after tense talks between Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 1 April.
Aside from the Jermuk case, immediately after the Pashinyan–Putin talks, Russia announced ‘stricter requirements’ on the import of Armenian products and accused Armenia of coming ‘very close to the point where we will have to restructure our economic relations with this country’.
Russia has previously been accused of using food health standards as a way to exert economic pressure on countries — including Armenia.
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