Interfax, Armenia
July 14 2004

Armenian PM, Federation Council speaker discuss bilateral cooperation

Moscow. (Interfax) – Armenia counts on Russia’s support for its
efforts to join the North-South international transport corridor,
said Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian.

“Participation in this project is very important for the Armenian
economy and for Armenia as a whole,” Margarian said following his
talks with Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov on Wednesday.

Margarian said that Armenia has handed over five Armenian
enterprises, including the Razdan thermal power plant, which accounts
for about 30% of Armenia’s energy production, in payment of its state
debt.

He also announced that the talks had dealt with diamond quotas
provided to Armenia by Russia.

Chairman of the Federation Council’s Economic Policies Committee,
Oganes Oganian, told journalists that under a Russian-Armenian
intergovernmental agreement, Russia has assigned a diamond quota of 4
million carats in rough diamonds to be cut at Armenian enterprises.
“This has allowed Armenia to create over 3,000 jobs and partially
solve the problem of unemployment which is very acute in Armenia,”
Oganian said.

He said the parties had discussed the question of unblocking the
railway running across Georgia, Abkhazia an Armenia. This would help
increase Armenia’s GDP by 40%.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress