Pashinyan says railway issue remains under negotiation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Yerevan and Moscow have agreed to continue discussions on the concession management of Armenia’s railway network, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a briefing.

He noted that during his visit to Moscow, he discussed with Russian counterparts the possibility of transferring the concession management of Armenia’s railway system to a third country friendly to both Armenia and Russia, Armenpress reports.

“Yes, this issue was discussed in detail. We had an in-depth conversation, presented our positions and views, and listened to those of our Russian partners. We agreed to continue the discussions. The essence of these talks is simple: under current conditions, Armenia is losing its competitive potential advantages.

Our goal is to ensure that Armenia can fully realize its competitive potential. We not only have no problems with Russia, but we highly value our friendly relations and do not want to harm Russia’s interests in any way. At the same time, the current situation does not allow us to utilize our competitive advantages, and together we must find a solution,” Pashinyan said.

Earlier, Pashinyan had proposed transferring the concession management of Armenia’s railway network to a country acceptable to both Armenia and Russia, arguing that under Russian management the railway loses certain competitive advantages, as some countries avoid using it due to Russia’s involvement.

On April 2, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk stated that there are no objective reasons to transfer the concession management of Armenia’s railway network to a third country.