Pashinyan says Azerbaijani fuel broke monopolies and accelerated trade

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said imports of Azerbaijani gasoline have played a decisive role in dismantling long-standing fuel monopolies in Armenia.

Speaking at the “Armenia and the World: Crossroads of Risks and Opportunities” security forum, Pashinyan said efforts to tackle monopolies had been under way since 2018, but real change is only now taking place. He accused former monopolists of waging counter-campaigns under patriotic slogans to protect their interests.

He also said mechanisms to confiscate illegally accumulated assets would be activated, adding that Armenian consumers had overpaid for fuel for decades.

Commenting on a joint statement by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington following the signing of a document on the TRIPP project, Pashinyan described it as a major step towards institutionalising peace.

He said border demarcation commissions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are working faster than expected, noting that the opening of regional transport links — including connectivity between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan — has already made bilateral trade a reality sooner than anticipated.

Pashinyan added that Armenia plans to build customs and border terminals along its frontier with Nakhchivan.