Kocharyan: Pashinyan`s statement about new gas pipeline through  Armenia carries election overtones

ArmInfo.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent announcement regarding the construction of a new gas pipeline through the country was fabricated out of thin air for campaign purposes. This statement was made by  Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan—leader and prime  ministerial candidate of the "Armenia" alliance—in an interview with  RBC, when asked by the host to clarify which new pipeline Pashinyan  was referring to.

"What pipeline? He doesn't know himself! For a pipeline to exist,  there needs to be gas, and there needs to be a country that possesses  that gas. That gas does not exist," Kocharyan said.  According to the  politician, if the Armenian Prime Minister is referring to Central  Asian republics, all of their supply chains have long since been  established. He noted that the pipeline from Turkmenistan to China  has already been built with very high capacity, and it remains  slightly underutilized.  "Gas from Kazakhstan goes through  Russia—that pipeline is constructed, and it is under-capacity, not  over- capacity. It cannot come from Iran. Gas from Azerbaijan is  already flowing to Turkey through existing pipelines, and from there  to Europe via Turkish mainlines—and that is also slightly  underutilized. What gas is he talking about? Any pipeline is built  based on a contract—gas volumes and all investments are  contract-driven. What gas is he referring to? I think this is just  another election trick—a response to talk that Russian gas might  become more expensive. It is an announcement made completely out of  thin air with an electoral coloring," the former president stated.

It is worth noting that even prior to this rather vague statement  made by the Armenian Prime Minister during a meeting with voters in  the Kotayk Province, Daniel Ioannisyan, a representative of the NGO  "Union of Informed Citizens," wrote on his Facebook page calling on  Armenian authorities to nationalize the Russian company "Gazprom  Armenia," or simply refuse to pay the increased portion if the  Russian side raises gas prices.

Recall,, relations between Moscow and Yerevan have become strained  amid Armenia's integration course with the EU. Last week, Foreign  Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reported that Moscow had warned  Yerevan of the risk of terminating gas, petroleum product, and  diamond agreements if Armenia joined the EU. Russian Energy Minister  Sergei Tsivilev later stated that Moscow had not received a response  from Yerevan. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin recalled that  Armenia receives Russian gas at a preferential price of $177.5 per  1,000 cubic meters, while the price in Europe is $633. An agreement  on duty-free supplies of Russian gas, petroleum products, and rough  diamonds to Armenia was signed in 2013 and ratified in 2014. It  applies only to domestic consumption and prohibits re-export.

In an interview with Vesti, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei  Overchuk stated that Armenia could face a difficult gas supply  situation, but that Russia is not interested in such a development.