Civilnet
Serge Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin meeting.
During a working visit to Moscow on September 7, Armenia’s President Serge Sargsyan met with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, where they discussed a broad range of bilateral and multilateral issues.
Political, economic and humanitarian cooperation initiatives, the process of strengthening and enhancing relations within the framework of Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and international and regional challenges in the context of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process were on the agenda.
Putin noted the importance of the special relationship between Armenia and Russia, with regard to Armenia’s membership in the EEU and the Collective Security Trade Organization (CSTO) in particular. However, he expressed concern that while Russia remains Armenia’s leading economic partner, the first half of 2015 experienced a “negative shift.”
Indeed, in the first half of 2015 (January-July) Armenia’s trade turnover with Russia decreased by 14 percent compared to the same time period in 2014. Armenia’s external trade turnover also decreased by 20 percent. Another worrying trend was the 36 percent decrease in personal remittances to Armenia from Russia. The vast majority of Armenian labor migrants travel to Russia for seasonal work. In 2014, personal remittances made up 19% of Armenia’s GDP.
Serge Sargsyan thanked Putin for transferring the case of the Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, accused in the gruesome murder of the Avetisyan family of Gyumri, to Armenian jurisdiction; a point of contention for Armenians as the murder took place outside of the Russian military base and on Armenian soil.
Similarly, an agreement was signed with Russia’s Ministry of Energy to reduce the price of natural gas by $25 USD/1000 cubic meters, bringing down the price to $165 USD at the border or a 13 percent decrease. It remains to be seen if the price of natural gas for the final consumer will be lowered significantly or not.
Another development during Sargsyan’s visit was the finalization of a $200 million USD preferential loan agreement, which will allow Armenia to upgrade the arsenal of its armed forces. The loan agreement was initiated during the Electric Yerevan protests in June of this year, when Russia’s Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov came to Yerevan and met with the president. (Several concessions were made during that visit, including the transfer of Permyakov and the $200 million loan to Armenia.)
Sargsyan also noted that upgrades to Armenia’s nuclear power plant have already begun and Armenia’s membership in the EEU has opened “a new chapter in our relations...we still have plenty of work to do so that the content of that integration union is filled with works significant to our people.”
Sargsyan said, “We are certainly ready for such work, and are keen on bringing to life the principles of free movement of goods, capital, services and labor as quickly as possible.” The Armenian leader said that volatility of exchange rates has had a negative impact on tariffs and that he was hopeful to find “good solutions.”
Regarding the NKR conflict, Sargsyan thanked Putin for his country’s efforts in finding a lasting peace to the conflict. “In the last two weeks, the situation on the border is very tense. Besides large-caliber firearms, the Azerbaijani side is using artillery. Of course, we are forced to respond,” Sargsyan noted and said that Armenia will bring this issue up during the upcoming CSTO summit in Dushanbe.
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