Papoyan said a train carrying 6,100 tons of Azerbaijani petrol and 1,500 tons of diesel fuel is about to reach Armenia via Georgia.
Azerbaijan already sent a trainload of 1,300 tons of gasoline less than a month ago, the first shipment of its kind carried in out in line with understandings reached by Armenian and Azerbaijani deputy prime ministers in November.
The shipment was granted a one-off exemption from Georgian transit fees. At least half of it was purchased by a company belonging to Khachatur Sukiasian, a wealthy businessman close to the Armenian government, and distributed, at a below-market price, through a gas station chain also controlled by him. The other wholesale buyer is formally owned by a young man related to another tycoon, Samvel Aleksanian.
Papoyan said on Thursday that the same two firms will also buy the second fuel batch. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told reporters hours later that the Armenian government handpicked them after making sure that they have no problem buying Azerbaijan fuel and facing strong condemnation from Armenian opposition circles.
Pashinian has repeatedly portrayed the fuel shipments as proof of “peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” His domestic maintain that the Azerbaijani government is using them for propaganda purposes.
Earlier in November, Baku allowed Kazakhstan and Russia to export wheat to Armenia through its territory. Papoyan said on Friday that a fresh batch of Russian wheat is now being shipped to Armenia by rail.
Armenia imported 490,000 tons of petrol and other fuel in 2024. About two-thirds of it came from Russia.