Fact: What is brewing regarding the gas price issue?

The newspaper "Fact" writes: "The visit of Vladimir Putin to Armenia, aimed at participating in the meeting of the Supreme Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union, was under the public's focus, as this visit is linked to an important issue that concerns citizens—the gas price, which significantly impacts our country’s socio-economic situation.

It was expected that during Putin's visit, the gas price issue would finally be clarified. However, Pashinyan and Putin met twice, and the public was not informed whether there was a discussion regarding the gas price.

Then, the next day, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson announced that the gas price topic was indeed discussed during the Pashinyan-Putin meeting, but the leaders of the countries should not be the ones to reach an agreement on this issue.

If you recall, in an interview with RIA Novosti in June, Pashinyan stated that he discussed the gas price issue during his meeting with Putin. If this problem was not something meant to be addressed at the presidential level, it would not be on the agenda of the Pashinyan-Putin meetings.

Moreover, it is interesting that on December 31 of last year, during a live broadcast on Facebook, Prime Minister Pashinyan announced that the gas price topic would be on the negotiation table, and they would do everything possible to prevent gas prices from increasing for consumers.

It turns out that negotiations regarding the gas price have been ongoing for almost 10 months now, but there is still no clarity on how much the price will increase, or if it will even increase at all.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan’s assurances that there will not be a situation where they have to announce in December that gas will increase in price starting January 1 are not sufficient. His statements can suggest more that a price increase is definitely coming, just not starting January 1. However, the question remains, when will it start?

It might start from spring, and it’s possible that this will be presented as a great favor from the government. We have already experienced this with the previous authorities.

Let’s clarify: there have already been publications in the media stating that the gas price will certainly increase. No one denies this anymore. The question is, in fact, the percentages and timelines.

According to circulating information, the Russian side insists on a 35-40 percent increase. Experts are confident that such a sharp increase will not happen. In other words, in the end, the gas price will rise, but say, by 20-25 percent. That is also significant, especially for people in socially difficult situations, who make up a large majority in our society.

Nonetheless, such a “concession” will be presented as a great success and favor of our authorities to our people.”

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.