Pashinyan asks Russia to sell Armenian railway concession to third party

By Lia Avagyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has urged Russia to sell its concession to manage Armenia’s railway network to a third party acceptable to both countries, warning that Yerevan could otherwise be sidelined from emerging regional trade routes.

Pashinyan made the remarks in an interview with BOON TV that was published on Saturday evening.

He said Russian management of the railway was not the problem, but tensions between Russia and the West were creating sanctions risks that could deter international investors and leave Armenia unable to compete for freight traffic.

“We have absolutely no problem with the fact that Armenia’s railway is under Russian concession management,” Pashinyan said. “Our problem is that, not because of that fact itself but because of tensions between the West and Russia, we may once again be left out of our own initiative.”

The Armenian government has asked Moscow to sell the concession, with Yerevan’s consent, to a third party acceptable to both Armenia and Russia, he said.

“What we expect is for Russia, with our agreement, to sell the concession rights to a third party acceptable to both the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation,” Pashinyan said.

Asked whether Kazakhstan could be a potential buyer, Pashinyan said it would be acceptable to Armenia, citing the Central Asian country’s developed railway infrastructure and experience investing in the sector.

“If the question is whether Kazakhstan, for example, is acceptable to us, yes, it is acceptable to us, and we are not opposed to such a scenario,” he said.

Armenia granted the concession to Russian Railways in 2008, transferring management of the national network to its subsidiary, South Caucasus Railway. The 30-year agreement runs until 2038, while the Armenian state retains ownership of the infrastructure. The operator is responsible for running and modernizing the network.

Yerevan has sought changes to the arrangement as it works to restore railway links with Azerbaijan and Turkey. In April, Pashinyan said Armenia would make no decisions on the railway without consultations with Russia.

Risk of being bypassed

Pashinyan said Armenia had gained a “historic opportunity” to join international transport networks after more than three decades of closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. But he warned that the design of the emerging routes could reduce Armenia to a short transit segment rather than turn the country into a regional transport hub.

Under the U.S.-backed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, a planned railway would cross about 42 kilometers of southern Armenia, linking mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhichevan exclave.

Pashinyan said the railway could enter Armenia near Nrnadzor, pass through the Meghri area and leave near Agarak. But the main international freight flows could then continue from Nakhichevan directly into Turkey instead of traveling north through Armenia.

“We see processes under way that could result in Armenia effectively being bypassed again,” Pashinyan said. “The railway could enter Armenia from the Nrnadzor side, leave near Agarak, and the main international flows could go not through Armenia and then into Turkey, but directly into Turkey through Nakhichevan.”

Turkey began construction in 2025 of the 224-kilometer Kars–Dilucu railway, which will connect its eastern railway network with Nakhichevan while bypassing Armenia. The line could give Azerbaijan a direct railway connection to Turkey once the southern Armenian section opens.

The Kars–Dilucu line is being built while construction on TRIPP infrastructure in Armenia has yet to begin. The project is part of a broader reshaping of South Caucasus transport routes, where new connections through Armenia will compete with the established Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway and other sections of the Middle Corridor linking Central Asia with Europe.

Construction of the Kars–Dilucu line has already begun, while the reopening of the Kars–Gyumri railway through Armenia remains under discussion.

Pashinyan said Armenia could not and had no legitimate grounds to obstruct the Turkish project, but should be able to compete with it.

“The Kars–Dilucu railway will be built one way or another,” he said. “We cannot obstruct its construction in any way, nor do we have the legitimacy to do so. But we must have the right to compete with that railway, and under these conditions, we see that we cannot compete.”

For Armenia to become more than a transit passage between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, the southern route would need to connect to the rest of Armenia’s railway network and reach Turkey through Gyumri and Kars.

Pashinyan said additional Russian investment would not resolve the underlying problem because the investment and subsequent management would remain Russian. International investors could therefore still avoid the network because of sanctions risks.

He said Armenia was seeking an agreed solution with Moscow rather than the unilateral removal of Russia from the railway system.

The concession issue is expected to be discussed with Russian officials, alongside natural gas and other areas of bilateral cooperation. Armenia has also asked Russia to restore railway sections leading toward Azerbaijan, Nakhichevan and Turkey.