MINISTER: ARMENIA REMAINS ONE OF MAJOR ENERGY PLAYERS IN THE REGION

Regnum, Russia
Dec 5 2006

Despite the fact that 80% of Armenia’s energy capacity is under
control of Russian companies, the country lost nothing, moreover,
it gained, Armenia’s Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan said in an
interview to Golos Armenii newspaper. According to him, Armenia
depended on Russian energy carriers on 80% even before, so it depended
on Russia’s policy. "Our nuclear power plant was functioning thanks
to the nuclear fuel delivered from Russia, and thermoelectric power
stations were directly dependant on supplies of the Russian gas,"
the minister noted. He added that all Russia’s profit completed on the
border with Armenia: it was not interested in anything further. "Now
we have made their profit closer to our power generating facilities
and tied it to solution of our problems," Armen Movsisyan believes.

The energy minister said that if before only two of the four energy
reactors of the Hrazdan NPP could be enacted, today, after handing
the NPP over to Russia, all the energy reactors can be launched due
to works carried out by the new owner. If the Russian side was only
delivering nuclear fuel for the NPP, now, after receiving it under
its financial control they need to provide for its profitable and
sustainable functioning.

Besides, Armen Movsisyan noted that "whoever owns our power generating
facilities and other energy facilities, one cannot act in contradiction
to our national policy, as one will have no ways of influencing
our national interests," the minister said adding that according
to the national energy policy, the NPP, power lines and control
over electricity supply networks are owned by the state and cannot
be privatized.

The energy minister also said that Armenia was and is one of major
independent energy players in the region. "The region, let me remind,
where from year to year deficit of electricity is only increasing,
and Iran and Georgia, and even Russia need electric power. There is
no deficit in Armenia only," Armen Movsisyan concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress