ArmInfo. Russia is in constant contact with its Armenian partners on railway issues, and all contractual provisions are being implemented in accordance with the agreed-upon agreements. Russian Railways head Oleg Belozerov told Izvestia this, speaking about Russian-Armenian cooperation.
According to him, Russia is very meticulous about fulfilling all the conditions, as is Armenia.
"The contract sets out all the conditions, including termination, cancellation, clarification, development, and extension. All these issues are detailed in the contract, and we will strictly adhere to these provisions," Belozerov added.
He also noted that no political events are affecting the countries' bilateral cooperation; work continues. "If there are any additional decisions at the government level, the organization will definitely implement them," Belozerov said. Notably, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated in an interview with Armenian Public Television on August 31 that Armenia's railway network needs serious modernization. He added that Yerevan had discussed this issue and noted that "it seems our Russian partners are not planning to make the necessary investments." Mirzoyan stated that Armenia will not miss this historic opportunity and emphasized that the network must operate and integrate into a larger project. He added that Yerevan is offering its Russian partners the right to concession management so that they too will not suffer losses. He reiterated that Russia could sell it to a third country that would be acceptable to both Armenia and Russia. He expressed confidence that a solution to the railway issue would be found, and that it would be beneficial for Armenia and would not offend Russian friends. Mirzoyan said that Armenia would await Russia's response.
On August 24, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking from the parliamentary rostrum, called on Russia to show flexibility and sell the concession for Armenian railways to a friendly third party. He also announced an offer to purchase the concession for $400 million. Pashinyan emphasized that if Russia continues to manage the Armenian railway network under a concession, Armenia could lose a historic opportunity to integrate into the international railway network.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan first voiced the proposal for Russia to sell the railway concession on February 13.
In a conversation with journalists, he stated that Russia's concession management of Armenia's railways creates competitive problems for Armenia, and many international partners want to bypass Armenian territory when implementing infrastructure projects. In this vein, he suggested that Russia consider selling the concession to a third, friendly country. He suggested Kazakhstan, the UAE, or Qatar as examples.
Russia called Pashinyan's statements groundless and stated that it does not intend to sell the concession for Armenian railways.
As a reminder, South Caucasus Railways CJSC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian Railways OJSC. On February 13, 2008, a concession agreement was signed in Yerevan between Russian Railways OJSC and the Republic of Armenia transferring the republic's rail transport system to the management of South Caucasus Railways CJSC. According to the agreement, the concession management term is 30 years, with the right to extend it for another 10 years after the first twenty years of operation by mutual agreement of the parties. The responsibilities of South Caucasus Railways CJSC: include the modernization of the RA railway infrastructure, the development of cooperation with states neighboring Armenia, and the development of domestic and international passenger and freight traffic. The amount of investments made by the Company is $572 million. CJSC "SCR" began its activities on June 1, 2008.
