Русский
The Armenian Parliament Speaker, Alen Simonyan, has stated that several countries have expressed interest in purchasing the concession for Armenia’s railways from Russia, which is currently operated within a concession agreement under the management of the South Caucasus Railway, a subsidiary of Russian Railways (RZD). Yerevan believes that the concession could be transferred to another country, as sanctions restrictions against RZD are creating competitive losses for Armenia.
Simonyan said that the Armenian side has already made a proposal to Russia regarding the sale of the concession to a third mutually friendly party, adding that “we expect that there are countries ready to acquire concession management from Russia. I am holding meetings with ambassadors of various states, but a political decision on this matter has not yet been made, and negotiations continue.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has previously said that Russia could transfer its concession for the management of Armenia’s railway infrastructure to another country that is equally friendly to both the Russian Federation and Armenia. He named Kazakhstan, the UAE, and Qatar as possible options.
Nikol Pashinyan emphasised that Armenia has nothing against Russia, but the Russian concession, due to current sanctions restrictions, creates “certain competitive losses” for the republic.
The concession agreement between JSC Russian Railways and the Government of Armenia was signed in February 2008 for a period of 30 years, with the right to extend for another 10 years after the first 20 years of operation. As a result, the republic’s railways passed under the management of the South Caucasus Railway.
However, due to difficult relations with Turkiye and Azerbaijan, Armenia’s railway infrastructure functioned with limited international services, mainly with Georgia. Now, resuming cross-border rail with Turkiye and Azerbaijan has become relevant.
However, restoration of the railway sections leading to these borders also needs to be undertaken. Armenia has stated that as the railway infrastructure is under the Russia’s concession management, Yerevan expects that the repair of the railways will be carried out by RZD. Negotiations on this are currently underway between Russia and Armenia.
