Pashinyan: investors are ready to pay $400 million for the concession on Armenia's railway

There are investors ready to pay $400 million for the concession on Armenia's railway.

This was stated in the Armenian parliament by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, answering questions from deputies as part of the presentation of the government's program for 2026-2031.

According to him, if the relevant agreements are reached, there may be components that will prove more advantageous from the point of view of serving Russian interests. That is why, he added, the Armenian authorities are asking and persuading their Russian colleagues to follow this path.

At the same time, Pashinyan stated, Armenia has a historic opportunity to fit into international railway corridors.

"We treat Russia's interests with great respect, but you will agree that it would be illogical to place the interests of any country above our own," the prime minister added.

Speaking earlier in the day, he said that foreign investors and shippers are ready to use the future TRIPP route in southern Armenia, but as for the continuation of the route (from Nakhchivan to Turkey and on to Europe), they avoid planning cargo shipments along Armenia's railway (along the Yeraskh – Akhurik route) and are looking for detours. According to the prime minister, the reason is that Armenia's railway is managed by a Russian company. In order not to lose the newly opening transit opportunities, Yerevan is proposing that its Russian partners transfer the railway concession to some third party acceptable to both Armenia and Russia. All these issues, Pashinyan added, are also being raised in negotiations with the Russian side.

"As for the dialogue with our Russian partners, it is very important that we do not say one thing publicly and another behind the scenes," the prime minister added.

Let us note that Pashinyan first raised the issue of the Russian concession agreement on the Armenian railway in the context of repairing the border railway sections with Azerbaijan and Turkey. In May, during the election campaign, Pashinyan stated that the Armenian government would carry out the reconstruction of these sections with its own funds.

Later he proposed that Russia review the management of the Armenian railway, saying that the concession could possibly be sold to a friendly country — Kazakhstan, the UAE, or Qatar. Yerevan stated that it does not object to transferring the management of the railways to a Kazakh company, provided the Russian side agrees. In turn, Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin noted that Russia is not conducting negotiations on transferring the concession to Kazakhstan.

Source: Sputnik Armenia