We Will Witness Not Only Small-Scale but Also Large-Scale Economic Scandals, Marukyan

Edmon Marukyan, a member of the 'Bright Armenia' faction in the National Assembly, made the following post on his Facebook page:

“Since March 3, the Turkish government has prohibited the export of approximately 200,000 medical masks left in the customs zone of Ankara airport to Italy within the framework of coronavirus prevention and mutual assistance. It is noteworthy that in the current 'frozen' economic relations, Turkey is not the only country that has halted the export of masks and other necessary medical supplies to Italy in the fight against the coronavirus.

According to media sources, similar restrictions have been implemented by Germany, Sweden, Romania... Among European countries, Italy is in the most vulnerable position, and, naturally, such behavior from partner countries is already receiving severe criticism. Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has criticized the Romanian government, alerting the WHO and the UN, labeling such behavior as anti-commercial and clarifying that the companies producing medical masks in those countries have Italian origins.

It should be noted that in the context of the current epidemic situation, we will witness not only small-scale but also large-scale economic scandals that will affect the reconfiguration of the trade-economic map. Economically powerful countries are already guided solely by 'rules of the game' stemming from their own interests. From all this, we must be able to draw lessons, calculate the imminent risks, and plan our reserve resources from the perspective of long-term crisis management.”