Trade Between Armenia and Russia is Likely to Decrease, Says Gohar Khachatryan

Due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, trade between Armenia and Russia is likely to decrease. Trade with Ukraine is nearly zero, but the volumes will somehow be compensated. This was stated by Gohar Khachatryan, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, during a presentation of the annual report on the activities of the Central Bank at the sitting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs, where he addressed the effects of trade and the Russian economy on the Armenian economy.

“We have $2.5 billion of international trade with Russia, where exports amount to about $800 million and imports to $1.7 billion. Given the dynamic developments over the last 1.5 months, the available data are still insufficient to make far-reaching assumptions, but trade will likely decrease,” said Khachatryan.

However, the Central Bank has not yet provided a final assessment regarding the direction of trade changes in terms of the balance of payments, capital flows, and trade balance. Armenia has a small volume of trade with Ukraine, amounting to $160 million, of which $120 million is imports. “If it hasn’t reached zero, it is close to zero,” he added, noting that these import and export volumes will certainly be compensated in other ways.

Regarding forecasts for the Russian economy, the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank stated: