ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statements about the alleged "toxicity" of Russian Railways for Armenia are unfounded. This was stated by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on September 2.
According to Izvestia, he said that Russian Railways continues to carry out international transportation, including transit deliveries through Russia to Europe, and that there are no questions about sanctions against the company.
"No one except Pashinyan is raising any questions about the toxicity or sanctions against Russian Railways," - The Deputy Prime Minister said.
He also reported that Armenia has not made any official inquiries to Russia regarding the possible transfer of the South Caucasus Railway concession.
The publication recalls that Pashinyan announced on August 24 that Yerevan is asking Moscow to sell the concession for the management of the republic's railways to a third country acceptable to both sides. According to Pashinyan, the proposal was prompted by the risks Western investors and international transportation participants associate with sanctions restrictions against Russia.
Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozerov told Izvestia on September 1 that 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. He also noted that no political events are affecting the countries' bilateral cooperation, and that work continues. If any additional decisions are made at the government level, Russian Railways will certainly implement them.
As a reminder, speaking at a briefing on August 27, Pashinyan said that there are currently no written offers from investors willing to pay $400 million for the Armenian Railways concession. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this at a briefing on August 27. He said the $400 million figure he announced in parliament was a verbal agreement. Pashinyan emphasized that working discussions are underway on the possibility of transferring the concession to a third party. Roughly speaking, the issue being discussed is how much the goods cost. "It's not like anyone has given a written commitment or an offer that 'I'm ready to pay $400 million,' but there is such a discussion at the verbal level," Pashinyan said.
SCR CJSC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian Railways OJSC. On February 13, 2008, in Yerevan, an agreement was signed between Russian Railways OJSC and and the Republic of Armenia signed a concession agreement on the transfer of the republic's railway transport system to the management of SCR CJSC. According to the agreement, the concession management term is 30 years with the right to extend for another 10 years after the first twenty years of operation by mutual agreement of the parties. SCR CJSC's objectives 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 investment carried out by the Company is $572 million. SCR CJSC began its activities on June 1, 2008.
