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GAZPROM WOULD NOT DOUBLE THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS SUPPLIED TO
ARMENIA IF ARMENIA ACCEPTED THE PROPOSAL OF RUSSIAN'S PARTY
YEREVAN, JANUARY 18. ARMINFO. Russia's Gazprom monopoly confirmed on
Tuesday reports that it has offered not to double the price of
natural gas supplied to Armenia in return for acquiring a big thermal
power plant located in the central town of Hrazdan,
ArmeniaLiberty reports.
Denis Ignatiev, a spokesman for the state-controlled energy giant,
told RFE/RL that this is one of the proposals made by the Russian
side during the ongoing negotiations with the Armenian government. He
said their acceptance would almost certainly spare Armenia the need
to pay $110 per thousand cubic meters of Russian, or twice as more as
it has paid until now.
Officials in Yerevan say Gazprom has agreed to delay the enforcement
of the new tariff until April 1, pending the outcome of the
negotiations. The presidents of the two countries are expected to try
to reach a mutually acceptable solution when they meet in Moscow next
week.
Ignatiev said Moscow has indeed offered to extend a
multimillion-dollar loan to Armenia which would be spent on covering
the extra cost of its gas. The loan would presumably be repaid with
fresh handovers of Armenian industrial facilities, notably the
Hrazdan plant which is incomplete but quite modern.
The idea was rejected by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian on Friday.
"We could borrow from the West and international organizations on
much more favorable terms," he argued.
The power plant in question is currently being completed by a
state-owned Iranian company that signed a $150 million investment
agreement with the Armenian government last fall. It is due to
generate electricity with Iranian gas that will be delivered to
Armenia through a pipeline currently under construction. Energy
Minister Armen Movsisian said on Monday that work on the first
Armenian section of the pipeline is proceeding ahead of schedule and
will likely be complete by the summer of 2007.
Russia, currently Armenia's sole gas supplier, is believed to be
uneasy about the project. According to the Gazprom spokesman, one of
the Russian proposals deals with the planed Iranian gas deliveries.
He refused to elaborate.
Russia's presence in the Armenian energy sector is already pervasive,
with Russian energy giants owning most of the country's gas
infrastructure, electricity distribution network, several hydro-
electric stations and another big thermal plant located in Hrazdan.
In addition, a state-owned Russian utility manages the finances of
the nuclear power plant at Metsamor.
HEADLINES OF OCTOUBER 20
OSCE OFFICE ORGANIZES WORKSHOP ON COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN ARMENIA
IF RUSSIA DEMANDS OF ARMENIA TO OBEDIENTLY FOLLOW ITS POLICY IN
RELATIONS WITH GEORGIA, IT HAS TO FULFILL SEVERAL CONDITIONS: LEADER
OF ARMENIAN MARXIST PARTY
INTERVIEW OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT WITH AL-JAZEERA FAILURE OF COUNTRY'S
COMPLEMENTARY FOREIGN POLICY: LEADER OF ARMENIAN MARXIST PARTY
KAZAKH AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: ISLAMIC COUNTRIES ALWAYS SUPPORT
AZERBAIJAN IN SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT
AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENT THANKED AMBASSADORS OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES FOR
SUPPORT IN NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE
JOURNALIST SEMINAR HELD IN AKHALTSIKHI FOR PROBLEMS OF NATIONAL
MINORITIES, LIVING IN GEORGIA
RA FM: AZERBAIJAN IS READY, AT ANY MOMENT, TO SIGN DOCUMENT FOR
SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH PROBLEM, WHICH HAD BEEN ON NEGOTIATIONS TABLE
IN 1997
RA FM: RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS NOT CONDITION FOR
ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS ARRANGEMENT
GOVERNMENTAL DELEGATION TO VISIT KRASNODAR REGION
FOREIGN MINISTER OF RA AT THE UN CONFERENCE IN TORONTO, CANADA
ARMENIA TO REVIEW ITS POLICY ON RUSSIA: HEAD OF ARMENIAN PUBLIC
MOVEMENT
ANM TO RUN IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2007 AS PART OF BLOC
PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARDS PRESS IS CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING FUTURE
ELECTIONS
$809.3 MLN NEGATIVE TRADE BALANCE IN ARMENIA IN LATE SEPT 2006
12.5% ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA IN JAN-SEPT 2006
'NEW TIMES' PARTY DEMAND RELEASE OF 'UNITED JAVAHKH' BLOC
REPRESENTATIVE
PRIME MINISTER OF RA MET WITH NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF
KAZAKHSTAN TO RA
A MEETING OF CHINESE MPs WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES IN ARMENIA
SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RECEIVED DELEGATION OF CHINESE
PARLIAMENT
ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN AND TURKISH JOURNALISTS INTENDING TO ESTABLISH
NETWORK OF ECOLOGICAL JOURNALISTS OF REGION
ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES HOLD CONSULTATIONS
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