Expert on Armenian premier`s plans regarding management of Armenian  railroads 

ArmInfo.Ankara and Baku's long-term goals of ousting Russian capital from Armenia are beyond doubt, political scientist Vahe Davtyan wrote on his Facebook page.

He recalled that RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently stated  that the management of the Armenian Railway by a Russian company  creates problems, especially for transit through Armenia. According  to him, "in many countries, in the West, East, South, and North,  there is an opinion that after Nakhichevan, the railway should not  pass through Armenia due to Russian control." This was followed by  the idea of transferring management of the South Caucasus Railway to  a third party. "A logical question arises:  which of these countries  want to transit through Armenia but, given the presence of Russian  capital, avoid it? To answer this question, it's necessary to  consider the problem on a macro-regional and regional scale.  Countries of Western or Central Asia? Transport links have long  existed between them through Georgia and Azerbaijan, and an attempt  is now being made to diversify this route through TRIPP. The Middle  East? Can you name any major players in the region that are not  currently engaged in intensive economic cooperation with Moscow? Iran  and Georgia? In the case of the former, we simply exclude them, while  in the case of the latter, we have documented dynamic Russian-  Georgian economic and infrastructural cooperation since 2012. That  leaves Turkey and Azerbaijan, whose long-term goals of displacing  Russian capital from Armenia are beyond doubt," the political  scientist emphasized.

In this regard, he recalled February 2010, when he represented the  South Caucasus Railway at the TRACECA working meeting in Istanbul as  part of the Armenian delegation. "There was 'football diplomacy,'  negotiations on the Iranian-Armenian railway had begun, and Moscow,  anticipating the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, initiated a  project to establish an international logistics center at the  Akhuryan border crossing, which I presented in a special report.  During a coffee break, a representative of the Turkish Ministry of  Foreign Affairs approached me. After asking a couple of clarifying  questions about the project, he said, 'All this is well and good, but  if you really want to integrate and become a transit zone, you should  manage your railway without Russian participation.' Not only has  nothing changed in Ankara's regional ideas, but the principle of  excluding the Russian factor has become even stronger over the past  decade. This is more than clearly expressed in Turkey's master plan  for transport development until 2053. Pashinyan understands that  TRIPP will not lead to Armenia's transport integration, that in  reality, the issue of comprehensively unblocking communications is  not on the agenda, and therefore another culprit must be found. In  this case, Moscow appears in this status. "The elections are a good  argument to justify why we are still so far from the promised bright  future," the political scientist concluded.