Armenian authorities announce a method not to raise price of gas

On January 2, Arman Yegoyan, the press secretary for the Prime Minister of Armenia, reported that the cost of Russian gas for Armenian consumers will not rise due to reduction of the expenses incurred by the Gazprom Armenia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 31, the rise in gas prices was announced by Nikol Pashinyan, acting Prime Minister of Armenia, after talks with the President of Russia. Nikol Pashinyan has assured that the rise will not affect tariffs for consumers in Armenia.

According to Gazprom, starting from January 1, 2019, the price of Russian gas at the border between Georgia and Armenia will be 165 US dollars per 1000 cubic meters. Meanwhile, in 2018, Armenia received gas at the border with Russia at 150 US dollars per 1000 cubic meters.

"There is no talk of subsidies from the state. The price of gas for consumers will remain the same due to reduction of the expenses and increase in the efficiency of the Gazprom Armenia," reported Arman Yegoyan as quoted by the TASS on January 2.

According to the information as at 1:30 p.m. Moscow time on January 3, the websites of Gazprom and Gazprom Armenia contain no confirmation of the information reported by the press secretary of the Armenian Prime Minister.

It should be noted that political analysts earlier interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" suggested that the long negotiations between Russia and Armenia on the price of gas were caused by the fact that Moscow sought concessions from Yerevan on the appointment of the CSTO Secretary General and also wanted to get certain guarantees that Armenia would not vote for resolutions against Russia at international platforms.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 3, 2019 at 01:37 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.