Armenia and Russia to create a working group to resolve railway operation issues

Armenia and Russia will create a working group to resolve issues concerning the operation of the railway.

This was stated in a release by the Armenian cabinet following a meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozerov.

During the meeting in Yerevan, Pashinyan noted that, given the opportunities for unblocking regional transport infrastructure, the goal of the Armenian government is to make Armenia's railways competitive and to integrate them into the railway network of neighboring states and into the international network.

In this context, the participants discussed the opportunities being created within the framework of regional processes, as well as steps aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Armenia's railways and their integration into international transport routes.

An exchange of views took place on projects for the reconstruction of railways on the Gyumri-Akhurik-Turkish border and Yeraskh-Nakhchivan sections, the release says.

It is noted that the parties discussed infrastructure development work during the period of concession management by the South Caucasus Railway company, management efficiency, existing problems and the possibilities for solving them.

"An agreement was reached to create a joint working group with the aim of discussing the formulated problems within set short deadlines, searching for possible solutions and clarifying further steps," the release says.

It should be noted that after the meeting with Pashinyan, Belozerov said in a comment to Sputnik Armenia that the issue of preserving the concession agreement on the management of Armenia's railways was not raised.

As a reminder, in February 2008 Armenia's railway infrastructure was transferred to the concession management of the South Caucasus Railway for 30 years with the right to extend it for another ten years.

The topic of revising the current Russian concession for the management of Armenia's railways arose against the backdrop of plans to restore railway sections on the borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. In May, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the government was ready to carry out their reconstruction at Armenia's expense.

Later, Pashinyan proposed that Moscow consider the possibility of transferring the concession to a friendly third country, naming Kazakhstan, the UAE and Qatar among the potential options. Yerevan also stated that it does not object to transferring the management of the railways to a Kazakh company with the consent of the Russian side.

In turn, Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin reported that Moscow is not conducting negotiations on transferring the concession to Kazakhstan.