The Russian Foreign Ministry admitted that Armenia wants to change the railway manager because of geopolitics
Russia takes seriously the statements of the Armenian authorities about the transfer of a concession to the management of Armenian railways to a third country instead of CJSC SCR (a subsidiary of Russian Railways), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said. The Ministry stressed that these discussions may hide the geopolitical interests of other states.
Russia takes seriously the statements of the Armenian authorities about the transfer of a concession to the management of Armenian railways to a third country instead of CJSC SCR (a subsidiary of Russian Railways), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said. The Ministry stressed that these discussions may hide the geopolitical interests of other states.
The Russian presence allegedly deprives Armenia of competitive advantages due to the threat of Western sanctions. In reality, the opposite is true: the Russian company has been investing all revenues for many years to support, update and develop the Armenian railway infrastructure, Galuzin said.
Since 2008, Mikhail Galuzin stressed, the Russian company has invested 30 billion rubles in the Armenian railway infrastructure, repaired more than 520 km of tracks, replaced 50% of sleepers, provided employment for more than 2.5 thousand people. “Persistent talk about the sale of the concession without a convincing explanation of why it may be necessary for the Russian side, may indicate that behind them lies the intention to ensure the seizure and transfer of railways in the interests of geopolitical projects of other states,” the diplomat said.
In December 2025, Nikol Pashinyan asked Russian partners to quickly restore the sections of the railway leading to the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan (these sections are necessary for the implementation of the transport project of Armenia and the United States “Trump Route”). In early March, the Armenian prime minister announced discussions with Russia about transferring the management of the railway to another country, for example, Kazakhstan, the UAE or Qatar. Later, he even admitted the decision of this issue in the arbitration court. The Russian Ministry of Transport stressed that there are no discussions on the transfer of the concession.
Read more - in the material "Kommersant" "Armenia crosses the road of Russian Railways".
Lucine Balasian
