Moscow: The West lures Armenia with railway promises to exclude Russia from the South Caucasus

The statements of the Director of the Fourth Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry came in an interview with the RIA Novosti agency, where he said: “I can assume that the Western interlocutors of the Armenian leadership are the ones who are teaching it the argument of the “toxicity” of dealing with Russia. In their pursuit of their geopolitical goals of excluding our country from the region, they are ready to promise mountains of gold (generous promises): huge freight flows, investments in the construction and rehabilitation of railway lines.”

The Russian diplomat stressed that Yerevan was being lured in exchange for these promises, to actually join what he described as illegal anti-Russian restrictions. He stated that the sanctions policy, according to him, caused serious damage to the countries that adhered to it, especially the member states of the European Union.

He added: "We are currently witnessing a clear tendency in European public opinion towards reviewing this policy, which is reflected in the internal political developments in the main countries of the Union."

Kalugin believed that geography and economics are key factors, and that they, not politics, will determine the fate of the transportation corridors in the South Caucasus in the long run. He said: "What decides the matter for shippers are the standards of cost, duration, capacity, and the presence of additional customs procedures that affect the regularity and predictability of schedules."

In the same interview, Kalugin said that Armenia's opportunities to further develop its national railway network only exist in cooperation with Russia, adding that Russia will remain one of the largest sources of freight flows through the South Caucasus by virtue of its geography and the size and structure of its economy. He called on the Armenian partners to resort to long-term economic calculations, instead of what he described as an immediate agenda imposed by the West, considering that there is no transport organizer more efficient than “Russian Railways” in the space, which adopts tracks with a width of 1520 millimeters.

The Russian diplomat also noted that none of the main indicators of the “Trump Road” project in the Armenian Syunik region have been announced yet.

The South Caucasus Railway Company is a subsidiary of Russian Railways. In February 2008, Armenia granted the company the concession to manage railway infrastructure for a period of 30 years, with the right to extend for an additional ten years.

On July 30, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not rule out resorting to arbitration regarding the operation of the South Caucasus Railway. On September 2, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk stated that Russia sees no justification for transferring the Armenian Railways management concession, as the company is working in accordance with the agreement, making profits, and is ready to participate in the development of the railways.