An increase in natural gas prices could have an impact of 5-7% or more on Armenia’s economy, Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said, commenting on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) report concerning Armenia.
He described a potential increase in gas prices as undesirable, Auroranews.am reports.
“At the same time, this would not create an insurmountable situation from which we could not find a way out. But it is highly undesirable. We have paid, or are still paying, for the price difference in the gas supplied to us in one way or another.
“An increase in gas prices is not desirable, but I believe that purchasing gas at market prices should eventually become the logical approach. We must reach that point through adaptation.
“We need to consider purchasing everything at market prices. If we do not buy something at its market price, we still end up paying for it in some way, because no country will sell us anything cheaply without expecting something in return,” the minister said.
According to Papoyan, the economic downturn of 2009 and its negative consequences were considerably more severe for Armenia’s economy than a potential increase in gas prices would be.
Papoyan estimated that the economic contraction at that time, in 2009, amounted to 15%.
