KARABAKH CONFLICT HAS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON ARMENIA-RUSSIA TRADE RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net - Within the framework of Armenia EXPO 2005 forum the official opening of Armenian-Russian Cooperation 2005 business meeting took place September 15. As President of the Union of Industrialists, Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan stated in the course of the opening ceremony, the business forum will be composed of 2 parts: official opening and 2 round tables. In his words, in the course of the forum issues referring to restoration of previous contacts between Armenia and Russia will be discussed. As A. Ghazaryan noted, the Armenian-Russian economic cooperation experiences some cooling at present due to blockade of the Armenian borders and frequently passive behavior of entrepreneurs themselves. However, the Armenian export to Russia has increased and the total commodity turnover between the two countries increased 20-25% past year, he noted. In his words the indicators will be maintained in 2005 and 2006 and increased if possible. In his words head of the Armenian MFA Department of CIS Countries Vardan Hakobyan said that the MFA will make every effort to provide for normal functioning of business relations between the two countries. In the opinion of many Russian regional representatives, absence of direct communications and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict have a negative impact on the Armenian-Russian trade relations. As First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Armenia Andrey Mokrousov stated, the Embassy makes every effort to develop cooperation of Russian and Armenian regions, and the holding of events like the Cooperation 2005 business meeting contributes to it. It the course of her speech Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Enterprise Promotion of Moscow District Lyudmila Molchanova indicated disturbance of economic ties between Moscow and Armenia, conditioned by the NK conflict not settled state, non-functioning of the Abkhazian part of the railway and the transport blockade of Armenia among other causes. In her words a Moscow governmental delegation will arrive in Armenia soon. It should be noted that individual business meetings will be held within Cooperation 2005 and business contracts will be signed resulting from these.