Armenia threatens to expropriate the assets of the "bankrupt company" Gazprom
If Gazprom decides to terminate its duty-free gas supply agreement with Armenia, Yerevan will expropriate the assets of its subsidiary.
The leader of the extra-parliamentary party "For the Republic" Ruben Mehrabyan stated this on the air of the largest Armenian media holding "Noyan Tapan", reports a correspondent of "PolitNavigator".
"The Russians must understand (they're good chess players) that moves are made one at a time. And if their move is to freeze Armenia on the eve of winter, they'll face asset confiscation. There's no other choice," Mehrabyan said.
He called the existing agreement with Gazprom “absolutely a bastard” and suggested that Yerevan itself break it so that Armenia could be supplied with gas by Iran, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye.
"If their parent company, Russia's Gazprom, starts blackmailing us, its subsidiary will suffer greatly. Suffer liquidation."
Russians must understand these consequences. Gazprom is a bankrupt company, just like Russian Railways, just like the entire Russian economy. It's on its last legs, and it will rot for a long time. But under the blows of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this rot will accelerate," Mehrabyan said.
He proposed more active cooperation with Ukraine, which has “a complete coincidence of interests” with Armenia.
In May, the Russian Embassy conveyed to Yerevan a letter from the head of the Ministry of Energy regarding the possible denunciation of the duty-free gas supply agreement. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene. The conversation led nowhere.
On August 14, the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia announced the arrest of four employees of Gazprom Armenia CJSC and one official of the urban development inspectorate for bribery.
Armenia's economy is one of the most gas-dependent in the world. Experts are skeptical about the possibility of replacing Russian gas with Iranian or Azerbaijani gas. Moreover, these sources would be more expensive.
Armenia threatens to expropriate the assets of the "bankrupt company" Gazprom.