FIVE ARMENIAN ENTERPRISES MIGHT GO TO RUSSIA AS STATE DEBT REPAYMENT

RIA Novosti, Russia
June 2 2004

YEREVAN, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – The seventh session of the
Armenian-Russian interparliamentary commission for co-operation
considered the passing of five Armenian enterprises to Russia within
the state agreement “property in exchange for debt.”

According to Russian co-chairman of the commission and Federation
Council member Nikolai Ryzhkov, the implementation of this agreement
involves some problems.

“The first and the main problem is the incompatibility between the
two countries’ legislations. The enterprises are already the Russian
property but are operating in the Armenian legislative field. Besides,
there are technological problems,” noted Ryzhkov.

The Russian co-chairman expressed the hope that a special
intergovernmental commission would soon gather for a session to
address these problems.

The intergovernmental agreement signed on July 17, 2002 on transferring
the property as part of Armenia’s state debt to Russia to the sum of
$93 million provides for passing 100% of shares in the Mars plant,
three Yerevan research institutes of computers, automated control
systems, materials science, and also the property complex of the
Razdan thermo power station, to the Russian side.