Armenian PM outlines scenarios for South Caucasus Railway

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has outlined several possible options for Russia to transfer its operating rights of the South Caucasus Railway (SCR).

He said one of the options is the sale of part of the company, with the Russian side remaining a minority shareholder, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“Another option is to split the license. In the case of railways, the license covers infrastructure maintenance and the transportation itself,” Pashinyan added, stressing that there are numerous possible scenarios.

According to Pashinyan, these functions could now be redistributed.

The prime minister also clarified that his earlier remarks about possibly demanding $2 billion a year in rent did not refer to the railway concession.

“I did not specify anything concrete that could be attributed to something specific. I mentioned it as one of the possible scenarios for developments, without having anything specific in mind,” he explained.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov