Pashinyan’s attempt to nationalize Russian Railways is a railway bluff: Danila Gureev

Political scientist Danila Gureev commented to Alpha News on Nikol Pashinyan’s remarks about “friendly solutions” regarding the concession of Armenia’s railways, which are operated by Russia. The expert noted that the post-Soviet space uses a unified rail gauge that differs from the European one.

“The Russian Railways concession serves as mutual leverage. Armenia could threaten to switch to the European standard, but that would require colossal resources: the entire network would have to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. Pashinyan won’t go that far. What’s at stake here is ownership, not a restructuring of logistics. No one is going to take Russian Railways’ place. Pashinyan isn’t talking about a sale, but about nationalizing Russian Railways’ property. But that would provoke a serious scandal and a direct conflict between the leadership of Russia and Armenia,” Gureev emphasized.

The political scientist is confident that the optimal way out of the situation is to change nothing.

“The friendliest solution is to leave everything as it is, the current system works effectively. Despite the absence of a shared border, critically important freight trains travel by rail. Preserving the status quo is the best option for both Moscow and Yerevan,” the expert concluded.