The Armenian side received a signal from the Russian side two or three days ago regarding restoration of the South Caucasus Railway’s Yeraskh-Nakhichevan and Akhurik-Turkey border railway sections, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.
“That signal indicates that they are ready to understand and discuss the nuances, including who will invest how much, and so on,” the minister said.
According to Mirzoyan, it can be said that this is not a rejection by the Russian side if it is trying to understand how to resolve the issue that has arisen. Mirzoyan also said that since the signal from Russia has been received only recently, the relevant agencies would now become involved and determine the next steps.
Nikol Pashinyan first raised the issue of the Russian concession agreement for Armenian railways in the context of repairing railway sections along the borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. In May, during the election campaign, Pashinyan said the Armenian government would rebuild those sections with its own funds.
He later proposed that Russia reconsider the management of Armenian railways, referring to the possibility of selling the concession to a friendly country such as Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates or Qatar. Yerevan has said it does not object to transferring railway management to a Kazakh company if the Russian side gives its consent. Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, for his part, said Russia is not holding talks on transferring the concession to Kazakhstan.
In February 2008, Armenian railways were transferred to South Caucasus Railway under a 30-year concession management agreement, with an option to extend it for another 10 years. (Pan.am)