The Moscow Times, Russia
March 1 2015
Armenia’s Economic Growth Slows Amid Russian Slump
YEREVAN — Armenia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 3.4
percent in 2014 from 3.5 percent in 2013, and was down from an
initially projected 5.2 percent, the National Statistics Service said
Friday.
In nominal terms GDP reached 4.526 trillion drams last year, up from
4.267 trillion drams in 2013.
Armenia, a former Soviet state of 3.2 million people, is closely tied
to Russia through trade and remittances. It also belongs to Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s Eurasian Union, a bloc he hopes will rival
the European Union.
Russia’s economy slowed sharply in 2014 and is expected to contract
this year under the weight of low oil prices and sanctions imposed by
Western nations on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine. Russia’s
economic woes have caused slowdowns and currency devaluations in a
number of neighboring states.
The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for Armenia’s
economic growth last September to 2.6 percent from 3.6 percent in
2014.
(Reuters, MT)