There will be no more support for Armenian economy from Russia – Vasily Koltashov

Speaking with Alpha News, political analyst Vasily Koltashov commented on Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk’s statement regarding the significant decline in trade between Russia and Armenia. According to the expert, Russia and Armenia have entered a period of serious cooling of relations.

“Trade between Russia and Armenia is declining and will likely be halved by the end of the year. It may then decline by another half. That is, we have entered a period of serious cooling of relations, and this cooling of relations has been expressed in economic indicators. There will be no more support for the Armenian economy from Russia. What will Pashinyan do in this case? He will probably say that Russia is to blame, that it is behaving aggressively. But in terms of the economy, everything is clear, the moment of breaking the economic ties between Russia and Armenia is coming. The ties will become very insignificant, Armenia will have to survive through trade relations with the countries its leadership has chosen for the people—namely, Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Koltashov said.

According to the expert, Moscow has realized that Armenia is now in a bloc with Azerbaijan, directed against Russia.

“In general, it is clear that a very difficult period is coming for Armenia. This does not mean that the situation will worsen immediately, simply because the West can give money, support the national currency rate. In any case, the closure of the Russian market is, of course, a disaster, although in the short term, it may be difficult to understand. Moscow has realized that Armenia is now in a bloc with Azerbaijan, against Russia. There’s no longer any reason to support the Armenian economy,” Koltashov concluded.