ArmInfo. Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructure and Natural Resources of Armenia Garegin Bagramyan, until the 12th June 2018, who was the head of the Tariff Policy Department Commission on regulation of public services (PSRC), does not possess information on the possible increase in prices for Russian natural gas for Armenia. He told this to ArmInfo correspondent, commenting on media publications on the decision of the Russian side from next year increase the price of gas.
According to him, the issue is regulated within the framework of the intergovernmental agreement which is valid for the end of this year. Nevertheless, according to the regulations for today, as indicated by Bagramyan, the Ministry of Energy received similar signals from both Russian colleagues and Gazprom in particular.
The representative of the Ministry of Energy does not believe in the prospect of increase in the price of gas. "Within the framework of the EAEU, the tariff for Russian gas should be the same for all, in particular for Armenia and Belarus," he said.
A week ago in the Armenian media the information came that allegedly Russia made a political decision to raise the price of gas from the next year, at the end of the current contract with Armenia. A similar solution, the Armenian media writes, will be made for other partners of Russia in the EAEU, in particular, Belarus.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, speaking at the EAEU Intergovernmental Council in St. Petersburg, emphasized the importance of forming a single energy market that will allow stimulate economic growth and integration processes within the framework of the Union.
Notably, after the "velvet revolution", the new minister of energy and natural resources for the first time revealed the brackets, saying that Iran, which some politicians consider as an alternative gas supplier to Armenia, sells it to the country for $ 160 for 1 thousand cubic meters in exchange for electricity, while Russia sells it for $ 150. However, as the Prime Minister stressed, despite the attractive price, to the Armenian consumers receive gas at an average price of $ 290 per 1 thousand cubic meters, which is unacceptable.
It should be noted that lately, more and more actively, information about possible increase in the tariff for Russian gas flow appear in Media. But the Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Artur Grigoryan reacted to this on June 8, who stated that it is possible very little of maturity of such a scenario, but in the case of increase in the price of Russian natural gas, the country will negotiate on the supply of gas from Iran. "Armenia is interested in supply of cheap natural gas," the minister said.
