Russia has not received any official requests from Armenia regarding the termination of the concession agreement with the South Caucasus Railway (SCR), Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said on Thursday.
"No, we have not received any official requests to terminate the concession, but we constantly hear statements about it in the public sphere," Overchuk told journalists on the sidelines of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting.
He emphasized that Russia advocates resolving all issues through consultations and dialogue in a calm manner.
"We are ready to continue working and continue the concession in Armenia," Overchuk said.
In particular, he noted that proposals have been made regarding certain sections that are an integral part of Armenia's railway system.
"We do not understand how one can separate one sleeper from another, but such thoughts are circulating," the Deputy Prime Minister added.
He recalled that in January of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin made decisions to support the reconstruction of two small sections of Armenia's railways on the border with Azerbaijani Nakhchivan and in Gyumri.
"We are also ready to restore them. In fact, we had negotiations with the Armenians on this matter, but interestingly, as soon as the Russian Federation announced that we are ready to participate in the restoration of these two very important railway sections, which will indeed ensure connectivity for Armenian railways with both Azerbaijan and Turkey, literally the next day Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a statement that Russia's participation in the concession allegedly deprives Armenia of certain competitive advantages in terms of railway development," Overchuk noted.
According to him, it is currently difficult to assess how the connectivity of Armenian railways with the rest of the world will be implemented without connectivity with Russian railways.
"But this is a discussion of a highly professional expert nature," the Deputy Prime Minister said.