Russia's state-owned railway monopoly Russian Railways (RZhD) runs the network under a 30-year management contract signed with Yerevan in 2008. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian declared on February 13 that the contract should be terminated because it discourages Turkey and Azerbaijan from using a much larger section of Armenian territory for transit purposes in the near future. The network should be run by another country that has “friendly relations with both Russia and Armenia,” he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed Pashinian’s statement as “bizarre” and “not acceptable.” Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council went farther, saying that the network could “collapse overnight” if Yerevan tries to take it away from the Russians.
Simonian told reporters that Pashinian’s government is discussing the matter with Moscow and wants to receive a response from the Russian side “as soon as possible.”
Asked whether the government has already decided to revoke RZhD’s management rights, he said: “No because negotiations are ongoing. If a decision was made, it would mean there is no point in negotiating.”
The only talks reported by the governments of the two countries so far concern the restoration of two short sections of the Armenia railways leading to the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders. Pashinian repeatedly urged Moscow late last year to repair them. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk indicated its readiness to do that on February 12.
Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Armen Simonian and Russia’s Deputy Transport Minister Dmitry Zverev discussed the repairs in Yerevan late last week. They did not announce concrete agreements after the talks.