YEREVAN. – The Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper’s sources close to the Republic of Armenia (RA) Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources claim that the management of the Russian Federation’s (RF) Gazprom natural gas company was irritated by Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan’s talk with First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri of Iran.

“During this telephonic conversation, Hovik Abrahamyan proposed the Iranian side to supply gas to Armenia in the next one month, since repair work is being carried out on the gas pipeline coming from Russia to Armenia.

“The Russian side has serious concerns that the RA authorities are attempting to find an alternative to the Russian gas, and that they are making use of this opportunity to ‘fasten’ the Iranian gas’ ‘foot’ in Armenia.

“It is a matter of principle for Russia, and for years the RF has exerted efforts to keep Armenia away from the Iranian gas as much as possible, and to deepen the RA’s dependence on the Russian gas.

“[And] the RA PM’s proposal to supply gas from Iran for domestic consumption can substantially reduce Armenia’s dependence on the Russian gas,” wrote Haykakan Zhamanak.