Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that a country with ‘friendly relations’ with both Russia and Armenia could ‘purchase the concession management rights’ of Armenia’s railways, which are currently under Russian management. He suggested this as a solution to Armenia losing its ‘competitive advantage’ by having international routes pass through the country.
Pashinyan offered the proposal during a press briefing on 13 February.
When asked which countries could fit the role, Pashinyan named Kazakhstan, the UAE, Qatar, but added that it was not an exhaustive list.
Management of Armenia’s railways was transferred to South Caucasian Railway, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, in 2008 as part of a 30-year concession agreement.
Pashinyan first publicly raised the issue of the negative impact of Russia’s management of the railways in February in an interview with Public TV.
‘Here we see that in the international context, the fact that this section of the railway is under the management of Russia is being used to present the Kars–Dilucu route as more favourable. This is a problem for us, because it turns out that we are losing our competitive advantage in a situation where we have a ready railway’, Pashinyan said at the time.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
In his 13 February press briefing, Pashinyan further elaborated that ‘within the framework of TRIPP, currently there are forces’ — without naming who they are — seeking to bypass Armenia, by pointing out that Armenia’s railway system is under Russian management.
‘Unfortunately, relations between Russia and many countries are tense, but we say that the railway is Armenia’s property, and according to our impression and conviction, Russia does not want to and will not create obstacles for our regional projects’, Pashinyan said.
He added that despite these assurances, his government observes that the number of proponents of bypassing Armenia is growing.
Previously, Pashinyan stated that there were ‘two competing options’ for the continuation of the Trump Route, intended to connect Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhchivan through Armenian territory.
One is a project already announced by Turkey and Azerbaijan to build a new line from Kars in Turkey to Nakhchivan. The other option is via Armenia, from Yeraskh to Akhurik, where there is already an existing railway which requires restoration.
Armenia, as Pashinyan revealed in December 2025, had asked Russia to ‘urgently address’ the full restoration of these two railway sections.
During the same press briefing on 13 February, Pashinyan ‘welcome[d]’ Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk’s recent statement that Russia had ‘decided to begin substantive negotiations’ with Armenia on the restoration of two sections of the country’s railway.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan insisted that ‘there’s nothing to negotiate’ considering that, according to him, the sections asked to be restored only covered a roughly 4 kilometre stretch of railroads. He further stressed the urgency of the restoration.
However, according to Overchuk, the requested sections of the restoration were 1.6 kilometres and 12.4 kilometres in length.
‘By the time we do this, the alternative railway will be built, and we will say, “Oh, Armenia was bypassed again”. No, there’s nothing to negotiate — let us build it first, then we can negotiate’, Pashinyan said.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
