Sale of the Meghri-Kajaran section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and all the deals on sale of other energy utilities under Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan is high treason, says the Founding Parliament (FP) movement in a statement.
"Armenia has lost its energy security and safety after such deals. Our energy system is in the hands of Russia. The Russian elite in cooperation with our criminal oligarchy exploits and robs our energy system and our people. At least, look at the unsubstantiated application of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC for increase of the energy rate. The FP Secretariat declares that after achieving a change of power in the country, the strategic facilities of the country, including the power utilities, will be nationalized," the FP says. On June 3, Ara Simonyan, the deputy minister of energy and natural resources, said the Meghri-Kajaran section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is sold to Gazprom Armenia. This 40 km section of the pipeline is High Voltage Electric Networks CJSC, a state-run company. Gazprom Armenia rents the 40 km Meghri-Kajaran section.
"It is a specializing company, who else should provide those services? We think that such expenditure in the energy sector is more effective when performed by a private company, not the state. The entire gas supply system of Armenia is owned by Gazprom, so it was senseless to keep this small 40 km section under the authority of a non-specializing state-run company." "Why we did so in the past? Because during its construction we borrowed money from Iran. Iran could issue a loan only to a company fully owned by the state, hence High Voltage Electric Networks CJSC became a loan holder, laid it out, paid off the loan, and now it is meaningless to keep this small section," Simonyan said.