Pashinyan called Western sanctions a red line in relations with Russia

Armenia makes it clear to RUSSIA that it does not want to harm it, but also allow itself to fall under sanctionsThe West cannotnoted the prime ministerNikol PashinyanNikol PashinyanNikol PashinyanNikol PashinyanNikol Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the threat of falling under Western sanctions is a red line for the country in relations with Russia. He said this in an interview with the Czech edition of Respekt.

“Where there is an opportunity, we will gladly meet Russian demand. But sanctions are a red line. And we say this clearly to the Russians: we do not want to harm you, but we ourselves cannot afford to fall under the sanctions,” Pashinyan said.

He noted that after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia, supply chains have been disrupted or do not function at all, and many goods that were shipped directly to Russia are now going there through Armenia, Kazakhstan and other countries, the Armenpress agency quotes him. ". As a result, new logistics routes were created, including through the territory of the republic. However, Yerevan is trying to be "as transparent as possible" regarding the goods subject to restrictions and is cooperating with the EU , the US and Russia itself, the prime minister assured. “We are a member of the EAEU and have very close economic ties with Russia, and Armenian businesslikes to participate in programs that have been created recently,” he added.

The Wall Street Journal, citing UN data, wrote that in 2022, the US and the EU exported integrated circuits to Armenia for more than $8.5 million, which is 16 times more than the EXPORT of circuits in the previous year. At the same time, exports from Armenia to Russia jumped to $13 million from less than $2,000 in 2021. However, the Armenian government denies helping Moscow to circumvent sanctions. Cumulatively, deliveries of American and European goods to Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan rose last year to $24.3 billion from $14.6 billion a year earlier, and exports from these countries to Russia increased by almost half last year, to approximately $15 billion.

The Financial Times, in turn, reported that after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, goods worth $2 billion were imported from the EU to Russia under the pretext of transit to other states, including Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while about half of them did not reached destinations.

In April, the US Department of Commerce imposed export restrictions against companies from Russia, CHINA , Uzbekistan, Armenia and a number of other countries "for trying to evade export controls" and purchasing American goods for Russia's needs. The EC has also proposed imposing sanctions on companies from a number of countries, including two from Uzbekistan and one from Armenia, for supplying dual-use products to Moscow, the WSJ wrote. On May 15, the HEAD of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Brussels was discussing a ban on the transit of European goods through Russia to third countries.

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Russia considers the sanctions illegitimate. President Vladimir Putin has said that the Western countries have tried to “swipe, swoop down the economy” of the country, but they have failed.