Armenian Prime Minister: The cost of transit of Russian gas through Georgia to Armenia was below the price, which was until recently.

ArmInfo. The cost of transit of Russian gas through Georgia to Armenia was below the price, which was until recently. On March 1 said the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Karen Karapetyan, answering the question of a Parliamentarian from the Armenian National Congress Party Aram Manukyan.

According to Karen Karapetyan, from the first 1 billion cubic meters of gas Georgia will take 10% of fossil fuels, with each next thousand cubic meters will receive in US dollars based on the rate of 100 kilometers of transit at a bargain price. "In any case, the price is lower than that which operated in 2016", the Prime Minister said recalling that in November 2016, he pointed to four factors, which led to a decrease in the price of gas for Armenia's consumers by an average of 7 AMD for 1 cubic m. Among these factors has been the question of changing the conditions of transit of Russian gas to Armenia. Another factor is the reduction of interest rates in 2017 on payments of loans, as well as reduction of their own costs and the market's reaction to lower prices. "The parent company is willing to subsidize the losses of JSC" Gazprom Armenia". Relatively speaking, we are talking about 14 billion AMD. Otherwise, there is the threat of market contraction", said the Prime Minister.

In his turn, as reminded Aram Manukyan, in 2015 Armenia has received from Russia 2 billion cubic meters, in 2016 1.8 billion cubic meters, which indicates a decrease in consumption by 6.8%. The same situation is observed in the field of electricity, which in 2016 compared with 2015, showed the decline in consumption by 6.2%. Every year the number of customers in Armenia reduces by 3-5%, indicating the ongoing process of migration.

The consensus between Georgia and "Gazprom" for the transit of Russian gas to Armenia took place.

Earlier, Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Koladze noted, "from a financial point of view Georgia has received about the same result as in the payment of its value in kind". Moreover, Georgia had an opportunity, if necessary, to meet the seasonal needs to receive additional volumes of natural gas at a discounted price of $ 215 instead of $ 185 for 1 thousand cubic meters. According to him, the contract is a two-years one, the first year (2017) is a form of partial payment of the raw material, but then it will continue by the monetary calculations. "It was the best solution, considering the given the current situation", said Kaladze.

Georgia consumes about 2.5 billion gas yearly, a major supplier of which is the republic Azerbaijan. The state does not buy Russian Gas since 2007. At the same time, from Russia, Georgia received 10% of the Russian gas supply to Armenia as payment for its transit.