Cheaper offer for gas

Yesterday the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia, Mohammad Reyisi announced that the Armenian government has never negotiated on gas price with Iran. This is sensation because it discovered the Armenian energy resources minister Armen Movsisyan’s attempt to mislead the society, as well as shows that the government has not even tried to negotiate cheaper price for gas. The Iranian Ambassador made another announcement, which also proves that Iran is ready to supply cheaper gas to Armenia.

The Iranian Ambassador in particular said, “First parties should negotiate in order to understand which gas supplier gives better conditions. Maybe a country wants to sell 1000 cubic meter gas to another country at $400, but to a third country – at $100. It is all about agreement between the two countries.” Mohammad Reyisi refuted Armen Movsisyan’s statement that the price of Iranian gas is $400 at the border. Certainly the Iranian Ambassador would not make such statement if he were not sure that his country would e able to offer such price as a result of negotiation. It was not by chance that he referred to a rate of $100. This does not mean that Iran is ready to supply gas for such low price, but what the Ambassador wanted to make clear is that it is possible to reach such agreement in case of a political decision. By the way, several days before this announcement Iran made another announcement saying that in case of lifting the sanctions, they would be ready to reduce the price per barrel of oil to $20. This means that it is totally realistic to buy cheaper gas from Iran. The answer to the question why Armenia did not try to negotiate with Iran is very simple – Russia did not allow. It is because our “brotherhood and friendship of many years” with Russia means that we must buy gas only from them. However, in this case we cannot negotiate but simply obey and accept their generosity. This is true especially for those who inform the society about the gas price increase in two years after the price is set, in order to reproduce their power. These days Armenian officials are busy with analysis and explanation of Armenia’s losses in case of refusal to give the last 20% share in ArmRusGazArd company. Can anyone suggest how much money Armenia has lost due to not having negotiated with Iran 5-7 years ago? The government would probably explain this by the fact that international sanctions exist on Iran, and Armenia would have problems with the international community if bought gas from Iran. However, such explanation is not acceptable because during the past years even the United States has related to Armenia’s growing economic relations with Iran with compassion as Armenia is suffering from blockade. This is why Armenia is able to receive gas from Iran according to the formula “gas for electricity.”