YEREVAN. – If Armenia wanted to receive low-priced natural gas, it should have entered the Customs Union, Democratic Party of Armenia Chairman Aram Sargsyan said during a press conference on Tuesday.

He stated that the Government of Armenia knew about the rise in the price of the Russian natural gas being supplied to the country, but it did not inform the people about this.   

“You need to conduct a balanced policy when you do not walk around with patched trousers. Russia says: ‘If you are going to the European Union, let them provide you with everything,’” Sargsyan noted.    

The other speaker of the press conference, ruling Republican Party MP Vardan Ayvazyan, remarked that Armenia collaborates with the Customs Union and the European Union, alike.

To a news reporter’s query as to whether Armenia can purchase natural gas from somewhere else at a cheaper price, Ayvazyan responded by saying that the ArmRusGazprom Company controls the entire distribution network of the country.

“Who will distribute the gas if we buy [it] from someone else?” he noted, and added that the road to resolving the matter of the gas price is by way of negotiations with Russia. 

Both Aram Sargsyan and Vardan Ayvazyan, however, shared the view that the raising of the price of gas is not an economic sanction against Armenia.  

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am