Armenian PM pledges further work with Russia to address supply of petroleum products, gas, diamonds
YEREVAN. May 28 (Interfax) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said he will continue working calmly with the Russian side after receiving Moscow's letter about the possible unilateral denunciation of the agreement on the supply of natural gas, petroleum products and uncut diamonds to Yerevan.
"As for your question, our strategy is invariable: we will be working with our counterparts from Russia in a calm and patient manner, without any stress, and we'll solve all our problems," Pashinyan told journalists on Thursday in response to a question about what Yerevan would do after having received the letter from Moscow.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Wednesday that it had received Russia's letter about the possible unilateral denunciation of the agreement on the supply of natural gas, petroleum products and uncut diamonds. The ministry said the letter "will be studied, and the Armenian side will reply as and when necessary."
The newspaper Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing a letter by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilyov to the Armenian Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Ministry, Russia might suspend or unilaterally denounce the agreement on natural gas, petroleum product and uncut diamond supply to Armenia, signed in December in 2013, should Yerevan continue the process of accession to the European Union.
"The ongoing practical steps towards Armenia's enhanced interaction with the European Union and the aspiration for entering the EU, which has been declared by the Armenian government, endanger the preservation and development of the fundamentally high level of Russian-Armenian trade, economic and investment cooperation, a pillar of which is bilateral international agreements," the letter said.
Armenia's attempts to enter into the EU "contravene the nature of the partnership between the governments and economic agents of both countries, built over decades on respect and mutual benefit, as well as Russia's repeated practical actions towards satisfying Armenia's critical needs on the preferential terms," it said.
Under the 2013 agreement, Russia permanently abolished export duties on petroleum products, gas and diamonds supplied to Armenia. That was yet another step towards Armenia's admission to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which also includes Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan nowadays. Under the agreement, Moscow supplies Yerevan with petroleum products and gas within the limits of domestic consumption, based on the indicative balance, but their re-export to third countries is banned.
The document says that in case of the agreement termination by either side Armenia will still be obligated to pay compensations to Russia or the unpaid sums will be recognized as Armenia's state debt to Armenia until the payments are complete.
Armenia almost fully meets the domestic gas demand with Russian gas. Gazprom supplied about 2.7 billion cubic meters of gas to Armenia in 2025. About 476 million cubic meters of gas are supplied from Iran under the gas for power program. Armenia supplies power, (mostly generated by the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant) to Iran in exchange for Iranian gas supply to Armenia based on the ratio of 3 kWh per 1 cubic meter of gas, Kommersant said.
The long-term contract on the supply of up to 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas was signed with Gazprom Armenia. The supplementary agreement to the 2013 contract, signed in the end of 2018, set the Russian gas price for Armenia at $165 per 1,000 cubic meters. The sides agreed to keep the price unchanged for another decade in 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in early April that Russia was selling gas to Armenia at $177.5 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the gas price in Europe was about $600 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 25 that the preferential gas price for Armenia would become market if Armenia left the EAEU.
Yerevan annually imports about 0.9-1 million tonnes of petroleum products from Russia duty-free, Kommersant said, adding that Armenia noticeably diversified imports in recent years. For instance, Armenia imported about 120,700 tonnes of AI-92 gasoline in 2025, including 50,600 tonnes from Russia and the rest from Romania (22,000) and Egypt (40,000). AI-95 gasoline imports stood at 74,700 tonnes, including only 6,000 tonnes from Russia and the rest from Romania (35,000 tonnes), Egypt and Bulgaria. Armenia can also buy fuel from the European Union, Turkey and Azerbaijan. For instance, Baku started supplying gasoline and diesel fuel to Armenia in December 2025.
A regulatory waiver for diamonds was issued in 2016 following Armenia's accession to the EAEU Treaty. Almost 50% of diamonds imported by Armenia have Russian origins.
