Russia Tightens Economic Sanctions Against Armenia
"We have already reported that Russia has resorted to economic sanctions, banning the export of Armenian dairy products to Russia, in order to force Armenia to make some concessions and agree to the dictated terms. Now it's the turn of restrictions on exports of other agricultural products and imports of liquefied gas from Russia to Armenia," reported the main Armenian pro-government Telegram channel Baghramyan26.
"Armenian farmers and truckers say that they cannot transport agricultural products to Russia for days. In Georgia, Armenian drivers and farmers are told that the Russian side has decided to ban Armenian trucks from entering the country. As a result, greenhouse farms are suffering huge losses.
In addition, trucks bringing liquefied gas to Armenia cannot enter Russia for refuelling, causing the price of liquefied gas in Armenia to rise by almost 80 per cent in the last month.
According to reliable sources, the Russian side attributes these restrictions to technical problems. However, it is clear that what is happening is an economic sanction against Armenia, with a political agenda behind it.
As a result of Russia's economic war against Armenia, ordinary citizens and businessmen are the first to suffer, and the public should be aware of these hostile steps," the source says.
Note that Armenian-Russian relations are in crisis over Azerbaijan's installation of a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor, which connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia says the Lachin corridor should be controlled exclusively by Russia and that the presence of Azerbaijani border guards on the ground is unacceptable.
Azerbaijan, for its part, insists that Armenia is misusing the Lachin Corridor to smuggle weapons, landmines and ammunition into Karabakh.