April 21, 2020 - 16:28 AMT
Lavrov hints gas price for Armenia linked to criminal case against rail firm

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has hinted that the gas price for Armenia is linked to a criminal case against the South Caucasus Railway, a rail operator in Armenia, owned by Russian Railways.

In response to a question by an Armenian reporter about the price of Russian gas for the country’s allies, specifically Armenia, Lavrov said allied relations “should be manifested everywhere”.

“We hope that judicial proceedings of the past several years against joint ventures, particularly against SCR, will be settled without developments that are not appropriate for allies, Lavrov said.

He also mentioned that one of the problems related to Armenia, which he said is a “chronic” one, is the internal price of the gas in the country, which further complicates the matter.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a September 2018 interview with Kommersant that an investigation at the South Caucasus Railway has revealed abuses worth about $60 million.