ArmInfo. The Acting Energy Minister of Armenia Garegin Baghramyan, is ready to listen to anyone who has the tools that can reduce the price of gas inside Armenia. "If there are people who have such calculations, then I am ready to invite them to a reasoned discussion on this issue," Baghramyan said to journalists after a government meeting.
According to the Acting Minister, at present, negotiations continue around pricing both at the border and within the internal structure (tariff). "Naturally, negotiations are under way around price cuts," Baghramyan said, but refused to disclose the details of the discussions, so as not to harm the negotiations. The Acting Minister said that negotiations were underway with both Gazprom and the Russian Ministry of Energy.
To recall, currently Armenia receives gas from Russia at $ 150 per thousand cubic meters at the border. Domestically, the consumer is already paying $ 290 dollars per thousand cubic meters of gas, large subscribers who consume more than 10,000 cubic meters pay $ 242, and greenhouses and processing plants pay $ 212.
Meanwhile, following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 8, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced an agreement of the parties to study together the pricing of Russian gas in Armenia. According to him, he gets to the republic at a very low price, but there is a high markup in Armenia. Later, during a meeting with the Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Garegin Bagramyan, the head of the Armenian government announced his intention to discuss the price of Russian natural gas with Vladimir Putin. Nikol Pashinyan noted that he intends to meet with the Russian president in November and in December and discuss with him, among other issues, the price of gas. "I'm getting ready to meet with Putin in November and presumably in December. Prepare documents for me on gas prices so that I can discuss them," the republic's prime minister said. In turn, Baghramyan expressed the opinion that the tariffs for Russian gas can be reduced to $ 140 from $ 150 per thousand cubic meters. "The document must be justified," Pashinyan replied.
Earlier, already former Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Artur Grigoryan stated that the negotiations on prices for Russian gas between the two countries will be held in November. He noted that Yerevan will not stop looking for ways to purchase cheap gas for Armenian consumers.