In our contacts with the Armenian side, we regularly raise the topic of Russian business conditions in Armenia. We were assured at different levels that nothing threatens domestic investments. However, as we can see, these statements do not coincide with reality in everything. More and more experts agree that there are signs of "property redistribution" in the republic with political motives. About it announced Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.
"A vivid example is the Russian-Armenian businessman S.S. The ongoing nationalization of "Electric Networks of Armenia" CJSC owned by Karapetyan. The ruling team tries to justify its actions with the slogans of "fighting corruption", returning illegally acquired funds to the treasury, and striving to increase the efficiency of the company. However, their veracity is highly doubtful. In fact, this is more like a politically motivated retaliation against one of the competitors in the domestic political field. It is noteworthy that before the appearance of the businessman in the political life of the republic, there were no complaints about the company's work. Moreover, the new managers, as far as can be judged, did not achieve much success at the helm of the enterprise in which hundreds of millions of dollars were invested.
We take very seriously the statements of the Armenian leadership about the need to sell the concession of the management of the Armenian railway network to a third country of "SCR" CJSC, a subsidiary of "RZD" JSC. It is claimed that the Russian presence allegedly deprives Armenia of its competitive advantages due to the threat of Western sanctions. However, in reality, everything is exactly the opposite. For many years, the Russian company has been investing all its income in the maintenance, modernization and development of the Armenian railway infrastructure.
Let me give some numbers. "SCR" CJSC's investments since 2008 amounted to 30 billion rubles (about 388 million US dollars at the current exchange rate), and paid taxes - 15 billion rubles (about 194 million US dollars at the current exchange rate). More than 520 km of lines were repaired, while the operational length of the network under the management of "SCR" CJSC is about 700 km. 50 percent of sleepers were replaced, more than 50 structures were repaired and reconstructed, including 38 bridges and two tunnels. The company, as an employer, provides employment for more than 2.5 thousand people.
All this made it possible to preserve Armenia's strategic asset and, as a result, create prerequisites for the effective integration of the republic into the international transport network, in case of complete unblocking of regional communications, which is especially important for a landlocked country.
Persistent talks about the sale of the concession, without a convincing explanation of why it might be necessary for the Russian side, may indicate that behind them there is an intention to expropriate and transfer railways in the interests of geopolitical projects of other states.
We carefully follow the preservation of the legal interests of Russian economic operators in Armenia. Violation of them will not only harm the investment climate of the republic, but will not remain without a proper response from the Russian side," Galuzin noted.
