Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan openly stated that the Russian business in is not under threat in Armenia, but the facts say otherwise, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said in an interview with TASS.

“Last summer, we directly asked the RA [i.e. the Republic of Armenia] prime minister about the prospects for Russian investors in Armenia. A direct answer was given to our direct question: Russian business is not under threat in Armenia. The facts, however, say something else. We see that they are telling us one thing, while in reality something completely different is happening.

First, the property rights of a Russian businessman interested in the purchase of electricity and retail trade were violated, and now a Russian state company has been offered to sell its concession [management],” Overchuk said. He noted that Moscow realizes that in addition to Westerners, there are people in Armenia who want to reduce relations with Russia and remove Russian business from Armenia.

“We see that last year Armenia adopted a declaratory law on its desire to join the European Union, and efforts are being made to adopt EU standards. We [i.e. Russia] cannot ignore the numerous statements of the country’s leaders about their desire to join the European Union. For us, both the seizure of the property of a Russian businessman and the proposed sale of the [Armenian] railway concession [management] fit into this framework,” said the Russian deputy PM.