Azerbaijan launches gasoline shipments to Armenia

By Alexander Pracht

Azerbaijan began exporting petroleum products to Armenia on Thursday, Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan told CivilNet, confirming earlier reports by Azerbaijani media.

A batch of gasoline, produced by Azerbaijan’s state-owned SOCAR company, will be delivered to Armenia on a freight train via Georgia, as the two countries do not have a functioning rail connection. Papoyan said all preparations for the delivery were in place but declined to disclose the name of the Armenian importing company, citing commercial confidentiality.

The agreement on the fuel supply was reportedly reached late last month in a meeting between Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev.

Georgia’s economy ministry confirmed earlier this month that it had received a one-time transit request for the shipment. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze later announced that Tbilisi granted a one-time waiver of the transit fee for the first shipment.

The decision came after Azerbaijani media reported tensions between Baku and Tbilisi over transit fees. According to those reports, the Georgian side initially set a fee that Azerbaijani sources described as excessively high, up to 40 times higher than the rates Azerbaijan applies for comparable transit through its own territory.

The dispute has revived discussions in Armenia about the possible restoration of a direct rail connection with Azerbaijan. Historically, the railway line ran from Yerevan through Armenia’s northeastern city of Ijevan and further east into Azerbaijan. The route was severed in the early 1990s during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, when extensive trench systems were built along the border.

In 2010, a massive landslide destroyed a key section of the railway between Yerevan and Ijevan, which has not been restored since. Reopening the route would require substantial infrastructure investments from both sides.

Armenia’s railway network is currently operated by a subsidiary of Russian Railways under a concession agreement valid until 2038. Rebuilding a direct rail connection with Azerbaijan would therefore also require cooperation with Moscow, which could create additional obstacles for political reasons. Since assuming control, the company has faced criticism in Armenia over failure to expand the rail network, alleged tax violations, and reported misappropriation.

Earlier in October, Azerbaijan lifted its decades-long ban on the transit of goods destined for Armenia. The move enabled shipments of wheat grain from Russia and Kazakhstan to reach Armenia by rail, also via Georgia.

Both the fuel and wheat shipments have drawn criticism from opposition groups in Armenia, who argue that reliance on supplies coming from Azerbaijan could create strategic dependence and pose risks to the country’s security.