Transfer of 20% stake of ARG to Gazprom is put on negotiating table

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian gave an assurance that no deal has been concluded with Russia’s Gazprom.

Let us remind you that a few days ago the press reported that Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller and Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian met in Moscow and discussed issues of cooperation, in particular, the issue of increasing Gazprom’s stake in ArmRosGazprom Company (ARG) from 80% to 100%.

It should be mentioned that 80% of ArmRosgazprom‘s shares currently belong to the Russian energy giant Gazprom, and 20% belong to the Armenian government.

“No deal has been concluded so far. Negotiations are being conducted, and the transfer of 20% stake is on the negotiating table,” the minister noted, adding that some other issues are also being discussed at the negotiations which will end by late June.

When asked if there is any use in transferring 20% stake to Gazprom, given the fact that in this case the Armenian side will be left with nothing and the Russian side may dictate any price, the minister replied: “The negotiations are being held to prevent them from doing what they want, so that we could have secure gas supplies for a long time”.