It Is Possible to Reduce the Price of Gas for Armenia, Says Kocharyan

Recently, a former official stated that Russia has not made any investments in Armenia. This surprised me, said Robert Kocharyan, the second President of Armenia, during a podcast.

“First of all, we must remember ‘HayRusGas’ — an investment of $820 million in the Republic. During my presidency, the average price of gas was $64-65 per thousand cubic meters. At the same time, Russia was selling gas in Europe at 3-4 times higher prices. Is this an investment or not? The construction of the Armenia-Iran gas pipeline was also done by that company. The 5th energy block of Hrazdan was also done by that company. The volumes of underground gas storage have doubled; is this an investment or not? If we add all this up, it amounts to a huge volume. These investments have enabled us to get Armenia on its feet,” said the second president, adding that the level of gasification in Armenia was double that of Russia itself.

When asked if, upon coming to power, it would be possible to reduce the price of gas for Armenia, Kocharyan replied, “I cannot promise that I will do this, but I can say that it is, yes, possible to negotiate it, possible to demonstrate that it is mutually beneficial.”