Pashinyan to discuss South Caucasus Railway concession with Putin

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he wants to discuss the concession of South Caucasus Railway (SCR) during his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Report, Pashinyan made the remarks in an interview with the BoonTV portal.

"All possible issues and mutually acceptable solutions to them will be discussed during the meeting. This [the issue of Armenia's railways - Ed.] is one of the most important issues," he said.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Pashinyan would visit Moscow in the near future at Putin's invitation. Peskov noted that the exact dates would be coordinated in line with the leaders' schedules.

In February 2008, Armenia's railway infrastructure was transferred to South Caucasus Railway under a 30-year concession agreement, with an option to extend it for another 10 years.

The issue of revising the existing Russian concession has emerged against the backdrop of plans to restore railway sections near Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan and Türkiye. In May, Pashinyan said the Armenian government was ready to finance their reconstruction itself.

Pashinyan proposed that Moscow consider transferring the concession to a friendly third country. Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin later said the issue was not being discussed.