Armenia would do well to appreciate Russia’s support – senator

The South Caucasus country’s prosperity is in no small part attributable to low gas prices, Konstantin Kosachev has said

Armenian politicians should not underestimate the extent of Moscow’s support for Yerevan in the form of low gas prices, the vice speaker of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, has said. The senator’s comment came after a senior Armenian lawmaker suggested that Yerevan could drift further away from Moscow, should it reconsider advantageous supply terms.

In his remarks on Monday, Kosachev noted that the “current price of Russian gas is a potent stimulus for the development of many of Armenia’s economic sectors and a significant factor for social and political stability in the country.”

“It seems to me that it would be fair if Armenian politicians took into account the extent of Russia’s support to Armenia, instead of speculating on hypothetical changes to the pricing policy,” the Russian senator added.

He stressed that Yerevan is in a far better position in terms of energy security at a time when much of Europe is grappling with soaring oil and gas prices triggered by the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Alen Simonyan, the president of Armenia’s National Assembly, suggested that if Moscow raised gas prices, Yerevan would withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

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Both groups are comprised of former Soviet republics, including Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan.

During talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that there is a “considerable difference” between the price Yerevan pays for Russian gas at $177 per 1,000 cubic meters and those currently seen in the EU, which have exceeded $600.

In recent years, Armenia has increasingly adopted a pro-Western foreign policy direction, expressing a wish to join the EU and suspending its participation in the CSTO.

Yerevan has accused the organization of failing to adequately support the country during its conflict with Azerbaijan, which ended with the forcible transfer of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Russia argues that the CSTO could not have considered Baku’s military operation in the area as aggression against an alliance member, as Armenia never formally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as its own territory.