All Parties Are Set on Unblocking Economic and Transport Links in the Region, Says Russian Deputy Prime Minister

The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Alexei Overchuk, expresses confidence that unblocking all economic and transport connections in the region will increase trade turnover between Armenia and Russia. According to Armenpress, Overchuk shared this view during a conversation with journalists within the framework of the Armenia Business Forum held in Yerevan.

He first noted that the working group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan is having meetings and is actively working, with the latest meeting taking place in mid-August.

"All parties are set on unblocking economic and transport links in the region. Of course, discussions are ongoing regarding how to implement this, but it is undoubtedly clear that unblocking and restoring transport routes will create significant new opportunities to expand and increase trade turnover, including between Russia and Armenia," said Overchuk.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, Mher Grigoryan, also addressed the question of how unblocking would affect trade volume in the region and with Russia, stating that predicting the exact increase in volume is currently challenging.

"There are two elements that still require research. The first element is that we have nevertheless been in a domain of restrictions for many years. While the effect of unblocking is obvious and will have a positive impact, what it will mean in terms of volume remains to be seen as we continue our analysis," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

To achieve the goal of unblocking all economic and transport connections in the region, an agreement was reached on January 11 in Moscow to create a trilateral working group chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, following a meeting of the leaders of the three countries.