The railway belongs to the Republic of Armenia, and the country must be able to use it as it sees fit, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"This issue must be resolved. We want to settle it in a friendly manner, but a legal question may also arise requiring us to make decisions. If there are disagreements, we will go to arbitration and discuss them there," the prime minister said, according to Radar Armenia.

Pashinyan argued that there are matters in Armenia that had been free of charge for years but could now become subject to payment.

He added that there are things that may have been free in Armenia for 30 years, but someone could now demand an annual rent of $2 billion, according to Factor.am .

"As I have said before, there is a lot of discussion now, attempts to speculate... Armenia's opposition, incidentally, through the 'Kaluga oligarch,' says, 'this will become more expensive, that will become more expensive.' But there are also things in Armenia that may turn out not to be free anymore. It may become clear that something that has existed free of charge in Armenia for 30 years will now require Armenia to demand an annual payment of $2 billion. It could say: either pay $2 billion a year in rent, or...

There is no hint or implication regarding the railway. I am saying it directly: it is the property of the Republic of Armenia, and there is no other option. But again, a legal issue may arise requiring us to make decisions. If there is disagreement, we will go to arbitration and discuss it there.

By the way, do you remember the discussions here about arbitration? They said the former owners of the Electric Networks of Armenia, the 'Kaluga oligarch,' had won in arbitration. But once it became clear that they had someone inside this building, and after we asked that person to leave, we won in arbitration. And then you talk about corruption—wasn't that corruption?" the prime minister said.

Earlier, Pashinyan said he had approached Russia regarding the urgent restoration of several railway sections leading to Azerbaijan and Turkey. On December 22, during a meeting in St. Petersburg with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue was also discussed. Since 2008, Armenia's railway network has been managed by South Caucasus Railway, a subsidiary of Russian Railways.