ArmInfo. Armenia has no problems with the current agreement with Russia on gas supplies, which are carried out on a regular basis. This was stated by Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David Khudatyan in an interview with journalists on October 16 on the sidelines of the COP17 leaders' summit, which is taking place in Yerevan under the motto "Leaders for Nature."
Regarding energy cooperation with Iran, the minister noted that the possibility of increasing energy flows, if necessary, was discussed with his Iranian colleagues. According to him, this is due, in particular, to Iran's need for additional electricity, as well as seasonal fluctuations in demand. "This is a routine workflow." "We consider our steps in this direction important and, together with our Iranian colleagues, are considering how to ensure that these processes benefit the energy systems of both countries," Khudatyan noted.
According to the minister, the unification of energy systems primarily contributes to increased reliability. This logic, Khudatyan assured, is the rationale behind the construction of a 400 kV power transmission line between Armenia and Iran. The head of Armenia's Ministry of Territorial Administration acknowledged that the pace of construction has slowed somewhat, but he emphasized that work is ongoing. He estimates that the project is scheduled for completion within the next year. "This will allow us to export larger volumes of electricity to our neighboring country and, in exchange, receive more gas, which, as you know, is used to generate electricity and operate our thermal power plants (TPPs)," the minister explained.
He also added that the existing pipeline allows for gas supplies in volumes at least exceeding those received by Armenia in previous years.
As a reminder, on April 4, Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan threatened to withdraw the country from the CSTO and the EAEU if Russia suddenly decided to raise gas prices for Armenia. In response, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev called the RA NA Speaker's reasoning incorrect. He recalled that during talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on April 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin provided a clear picture of the current situation: "energy prices, gas prices in Europe are skyrocketing to over $600 per 1,000 cubic meters, while Russia sells gas to Armenia at $177.5 per 1,000 cubic meters." Russia made it clear that energy prices for Armenia would rise if the course toward rapprochement with the EU continued.
