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ARMENIA'S ACCESSION TO CUSTOMS UNION WILL RESULT IN CHEAPER NATURAL GAS, EXPERT SAYS
YEREVAN, September 11. / ARKA /. Armenia's accession to the Customs
Union will guarantee it cheaper price for imported natural gas,
Sevak Sarukhanian, deputy head of Noravank research and education
foundation said today.
According to him, the failure to join the Russian-led union would mean
substantially higher price that would have a very negative impact on
Armenian economy.
"But the question is whether accession to the union will guarantee an
unchanged price of natural gas. There is no such guarantee, because the
Customs Union is still at the stage of formation of a common energy
policy. However, the trends in the Russian -Belarusian agreements
indicate that Russia will apply the principle of proportionate return,'
he said.
This, he said, does not mean that Armenia will pay as much as consumers
within Russia pay because transport costs should be taken into account
as well.
"In our case, the main problem is the transit fee we pay to Georgia.
The price for Belarus is $190 per one thousand cubic meters. For
Armenia the price may be some $210-$220. In any case the price will be
much lower than $350-$400 that other countries have to pay,' he said.
"Armenia is not ready to fully integrate either with the Eurasian
Economic Community or the European Union," a political analyst Yervand
Bozoyan countered. According to him, although Yerevan must remain
committed to European values to build a real democracy, European
integration is fraught with certain risks, as Armenia can not be
simultaneously integrated into Europe and cooperate with Russia on
security issues.
Speaking about Armenia's intention to join the Customs Union, Bozoyan
claimed the country will face serious technical problems because of
the absence of common border with any of the Customs Union's member
countries. -0-
16:52 11.09.2013
http://arka.am/en/news/economy/armenia_s_accession_to_customs_union_will_result_i n_cheaper_natural_gas_expert_says/
YEREVAN, September 11. / ARKA /. Armenia's accession to the Customs
Union will guarantee it cheaper price for imported natural gas,
Sevak Sarukhanian, deputy head of Noravank research and education
foundation said today.
According to him, the failure to join the Russian-led union would mean
substantially higher price that would have a very negative impact on
Armenian economy.
"But the question is whether accession to the union will guarantee an
unchanged price of natural gas. There is no such guarantee, because the
Customs Union is still at the stage of formation of a common energy
policy. However, the trends in the Russian -Belarusian agreements
indicate that Russia will apply the principle of proportionate return,'
he said.
This, he said, does not mean that Armenia will pay as much as consumers
within Russia pay because transport costs should be taken into account
as well.
"In our case, the main problem is the transit fee we pay to Georgia.
The price for Belarus is $190 per one thousand cubic meters. For
Armenia the price may be some $210-$220. In any case the price will be
much lower than $350-$400 that other countries have to pay,' he said.
"Armenia is not ready to fully integrate either with the Eurasian
Economic Community or the European Union," a political analyst Yervand
Bozoyan countered. According to him, although Yerevan must remain
committed to European values to build a real democracy, European
integration is fraught with certain risks, as Armenia can not be
simultaneously integrated into Europe and cooperate with Russia on
security issues.
Speaking about Armenia's intention to join the Customs Union, Bozoyan
claimed the country will face serious technical problems because of
the absence of common border with any of the Customs Union's member
countries. -0-
16:52 11.09.2013
http://arka.am/en/news/economy/armenia_s_accession_to_customs_union_will_result_i n_cheaper_natural_gas_expert_says/