Pashinian repeated them when he presented his government’s five-year policy program to the Armenian parliament on Monday. He claimed that Western sanctions against Russia discourage “international investors” from using the network for transit purposes.
“Due to the fact that the Armenian railway is under Russian control, we now risk losing this historic opportunity to integrate Armenia into the international railway network,” he said. “We cannot afford to lose this historic opportunity. We ask our Russian partners to show flexibility and sell the concession rights to a third country acceptable to Armenia and Russia.”
In a clear response to Pashinian, the Russian Foreign Ministry said there is an “absolute discrepancy between Yerevan's arguments and reality.”
“All clarifications on this matter have been provided at various levels,” the ministry told the TASS news agency. “However, the Armenian side is finding it difficult to provide counterarguments.”
The ministry claimed that Pashinian is trying to end the Russian management under pressure from Western powers keen to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus.
The Russian Railways (RZhD) monopoly controls the network in accordance with a 30-year management contract signed in 2008. Pashinian said in February that the Armenian railway should be run by another, non-Russian company because its current status discourages Turkey and Azerbaijan from using a much larger section of Armenian territory for transit purposes.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described that statement as “bizarre” and “not acceptable.” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk argued in April that Turkey is already building a railway that will run from the eastern Turkish city of Kars to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave bypassing Armenia.
Pashinian renewed his push to end RZhD’s presence in Armenia after a further deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations that began this spring. Late last month, he threatened to take RZhD to international court or charge the Russian giant as much as $2 billion annually for its management rights.
The RZhD chairman, Oleg Belozerov, responded by saying that Yerevan would have to compensate his company for about $400 million in investments its claims to have made in the country since 2009. Russian Minister for Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov echoed the warning. Pashinian softened his rhetoric on the issue in the following weeks.
As well as insisting on ending the Russian control of the Armenian railway, the premier also announced on Monday plans to formally apply for Armenia’s membership in the European Union. The move added to the Russian-Armenian tensions, with senior Russian officials warning of further economic sanctions against Armenia. Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin condemned Yerevan’s foreign policy as “cynical” and “deceitful” in an interview Russian state television publicized on Wednesday.