ArmInfo.The Armenian delegation headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan left for Russia to hold negotiations on the subject of gas tariffs. Suren Parsyan, an economist, candidate of economic sciences, announced this.
In particular, he indicated on his Facebook page that this topic is not mentioned as the purpose of the working visit, however, guided by the period of stay of the Armenian delegation in the Russian Federation - from March 16 to 18, and the deadline for the agreement on the gas tariff for Armenia set at $ 165/1000 cubic meters, which expires on March 31 of this year, and the composition of the delegation itself, the expert expressed the opinion that this issue is also on the agenda of the visit. In this context, he said that the Deputy Minister in charge of the energy sector Hakob Vardanyan and the Chairman of the Commission for the Regulation of Public Services Garegin Baghramyan went to the Russian Federation together with the Deputy Prime Minister.
At the same time, Parsyan noted that in the absence of a new agreement, the Russian side can increase the cost of the current tariff for the supply of "blue fuel" to Armenia. At the same time, the expert noted that Moldova and Belarus receive Russian gas at a cost 30% lower ($ 120-127) than the tariff set for Armenia.
<Leaving aside the pre-election promises of the authorities to reduce electricity and gas tariffs, it is worth noting that mainly for business, from July 19, 2020, the gas tariff increased by 6%, and from February 1, 2021 - by 8% for electricity, due to which we have recorded a noticeable level of inflation. It is no secret that numerous economic and political factors influence the gas negotiation process. And, nevertheless, we must hope that this time the authorities are much better prepared for the negotiations, which will allow us to reduce the cost of gas at the border, "he said.
Otherwise, as noted by Parsyan, the economic entities and the economy of Armenia, in the context of the rise in the cost of energy resources, will continue to lose competitiveness, and the current crisis will worsen even more.
