Armenia and Russia to continue talks on railway concession management

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that his April 1 visit to Russia, during which he met with President Vladimir Putin, included detailed discussions about the potential transfer of the management rights of Armenia’s railway network – currently held by Russia - to another country. “Yes, that issue was discussed in detail,” Pashinyan said at a press briefing on Thursday when asked about the matter.

“We had an in-depth conversation, presented our positions and views, and listened to the positions of our Russian partners. We agreed to continue the discussions. The essence of these discussions is as follows: the issue can be formulated in just one sentence—under the current conditions, the Republic of Armenia is losing its potential competitive advantages. Our task is to ensure that Armenia is able to fully realize its competitive potential. We have no problems with Russia; on the contrary, we highly value our friendly relations and do not want to harm Russia’s interests in any way. But at the same time, the current situation does not allow us to make use of our competitive advantages, and we must jointly consider what solution can be found,” the Prime Minister said.

Pashinyan has previously called for an end to Russian management of Armenia’s railway network, which operates under a concession agreement. He has specifically stated that, in the context of current regional connectivity development projects, it would be preferable for another country—particularly one with friendly ties to both Armenia and Russia—to take over management. He argued that some countries might choose not to ship goods through Armenia due to Russian management of the railway system, thereby reducing Armenia’s competitiveness.

However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk has said there are no “objective reasons” to sell the management rights of Armenian railways to another country.