“Our expectation now is that Russia, with our consent, sells the concession rights to a third party -- one that is acceptable. Moreover, that third party must be mutually acceptable to both the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation,” he told the Boon TV station in an interview aired at the weekend.
Pashinian repeated his claims that the current status of the Armenian railways discourages Turkey and Azerbaijan from using a much larger section of Armenian territory for transit purposes.
Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, dismissed the claims as “absurd” on Thursday when he accused the Armenian government of plotting “corporate raiding” against Russian-linked companies operating in Armenia. Shoigu’s deputy Alexei Shevtsov and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said the next day that such actions would have severe consequences for Yerevan.
“Any violation of these [Russian economic] interests would … would also not go without an appropriate response from the Russian side,” Galuzin said in written comments posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website.
The ministry claimed late last month that Pashinian wants to scrap the Russian Railways (RZhD) monopoly’s concession over the network as part of the West’s efforts to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus. Galuzin likewise said Yerevan is acting “in the interests of the geopolitical projects of other states.”
RZhD runs the Armenian railways in accordance with a 30-year management contract signed in 2008. Pashinian first called for the contract’s termination in February, prompting angry reactions from Moscow.
Russian-Armenian relations have deteriorated further since then, with Moscow pressuring Yerevan to quickly choose between seeking membership of the European Union and remaining part of a Russian-led trade bloc. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly repeated his demands for an Armenian referendum on the issue during his talks with Pashinian held in Kyrgyzstan September 1.
The two leaders are expected to meet again in Moscow soon. Pashinian said the railway issue will also be high on their agenda.