The newspaper "Hraparak" has dramatized the Armenian President's meeting with the heads of Armenian banks. The head of one of the leading banks of Armenia has told ArmInfo that the President of Armenia invited the bankers to dinner about a week ago when the West's sanctions against a number of Russian businessmen and the Rossiya Bank were even out of the question.
To recall, earlier "Hraparak" reported that Serzh Sargsyan had met with the Armenian bankers to discuss the possible consequences of the introduced and expected sanctions against Russia, which may allegedly affect Armenia's economy.
ArmInfo's source says, however, that the meeting covered general issues and the participants just exchanged their views of the current situation in the financial market. "Hraparak" flavored its article with a couple of "sensitive issues". In fact, the newspaper does not know exactly when the meeting took place and what the banks and the President were talking about.
According to the source, none of the Russian entrepreneurs and politicians on the list of the sanctions has assets in Armenia. In addition, the Rossiya Bank's relations with the financial system of Armenia can be restricted to corresponding accounts only. The Rossiya Bank has neither branches nor representations in Armenia. The money flows between Gazprom and its subsidiary Gazprom Armenia are serviced by another Russian bank.