Yerevan, March 6 - Neftegaz.RU. In an interview with TASS Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed hope that the issue of natural gas price for Armenia will be resolved this year, Armenian Arca reported.
«Negotiations are underway, and I hope that this year we will be able to resolve this issue, because it is important not only for the development of bilateral relations with Russia, but also for the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). After all, the essence of the EEU is to create a common economic space,» he said.
According to Pashinyan, in order for this common economic space to take place, it is necessary that energy prices, which have a very important share in the structure of production costs, do not differ much.
«Because, if, for example, the cost of the same product is much higher in Armenia because of higher energy prices than, for example in Belarus, Russia or Kazakhstan, then it will hit the essence of EEU,» said Pashinyan.
In late December 2018, Russia's Gazprom raised the price of gas it ships to Armenia across Georgia from $150 per one thousand m3 to $165. The new price has been effective from January 1, 2019.
In 2018 September Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ordered creation of a task force that was to look into the factors and components that influence the price of Russian gas delivered to Armenia. During a September 8 meeting in the Kremlin Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin agreed to look into the pricing of Russian gas delivered to Armenia.
The Russian gas is delivered to Armenia by Gazprom at a $165 per one thousand m3, but Gazprom’s Armenian subsidiary - Gazprom Armenia - sells it to Armenian households at almost $300.
